Many scholars are influenced by the theoretical contributions of Lev Vygotsky. Significant post-Vygotskian scholarly writing highlights sociocultural perspectives of understanding everyday, informal learning as an important phenomenon. Ideas of participatory learning, and knowledge building through participation and inquiry, are included in the…

Self-regulation facilitates healthy development and positive adaptation across the life course, and deficits are linked to negative health outcomes. Self-regulation development is thus an important target for universal prevention interventions in early childhood. A well-established research base addresses the significance of caregiver…

There has been a dearth of published research exploring the scientific ideas that young children construct, particularly in prestigious periodicals in the science education genre. The current article discusses the reasons behind this lack of prominence, and suggests ways forward that may link work from the field of developmental psychology with…

Major developmental theories been a resource to early childhood education researchers and educators. They help to explain how child development unfolds, sources of vulnerability and protection that influences child development, and how the course of development may be altered by prevention and intervention efforts. Understanding factors which may…

Social competence is an essential capability to bring to school because of its relationship to academic success. Development and consolidation of social understanding in early childhood ensures that young children have a solid foundation of social expertise when they begin formal schooling. Social expertise, conceptualized within the framework of…

Describes retraining of Russian teachers in Vygotskian perspectives as an educational innovation. Contextualizes movement toward Vygotsky in Russian education and begins assessing its implications for the Western context. Implications include rethinking the teacher's role in the classroom as socially constituted and reconsidering the nature of…