One of the key ideas of Vygotsky’s theory is the zone of proximal development. This is the difference between what a child can achieve when working by themselves and what the same child can achieve when given assistance from someone with the necessary knowledge. Children who lack the necessary skills to complete a given task may do far better in the social context provided by someone with the necessary skills or knowledge. According to Vygotsky’s theory children learn and develop through interaction with people who are more experienced.
Another idea of how children learn is by the idea of scaffolding. This was suggested by Bruner et al in 1976 as a development of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. It refers to the context provided by knowledgeable people such as parents and teachers to help children develop their cognitive skills. The ‘scaffolding’, or support, provided by these adults is gradually removed as the child becomes more confident. The idea of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding have proved very effective and are used in teaching proving they are valid and useful theories.
One of the major influencing factors of children’s cognitive development according to Vygotsky is language. He theorised that there are four stages to the development of language. These consist of: the first stage, during which language and thought are unrelated and children have only pre-verbal and pre-intellectual language; the second during which language and thought run parallel to each other but have little impact on each other; the third during which children begin to make use of speech with others as well as private speech to make sense of things; and finally the fourth stage during which language becomes increasingly central to cognitive development. At first private speech is spoken out loud but increasingly becomes internal in this last stage. An important achievement developed during the third stage is that of intersubjectivity. This refers to the process by which two people whose original opinions on a subject are opposing move toward an agreement of what is involved. For example, a child listens to both their own view and that of someone else and comes to an understanding.
Evidence to support Vygotsky’s theory of social context being important can be found in the observations of Wertch et al in 1980. Wertch observed that young children were more likely to construct a particular truck out of a selection when the child’s mother was looking at it showing that these young children were very much influenced by their mothers as can be expected from Vygotsky’s theory. However, the same did not apply with older children who were more likely to be influenced by their peers. Vygotsky’s belief that inner speech is also very important has also received support. Behrend et al found that children who made use of inner speech (measured by visible lip movements and whispering) did better in tasks than those that did not.
However, Vygotsky’s theory has been criticised for placing too much emphasis on the importance of social interaction without taking into account the part that motivation and interest can play in a child’s cognitive development. Also, he does not specify which type of social interaction is best or take into consideration what the effect would be of someone who, in a social situation, refuses to compromise their position or point of view. Social interaction in these circumstances would not be beneficial for the child.
Vygotsky emphasised the importance of language and social interaction in a child’s cognitive development. Vygotsky also, unlike Piaget, recognised the importance that different cultural upbringing can play in a child’s cognitive development claiming that tools are specific to different cultures. According to his theory, it is through social interaction with those we have regular social contact with that we learn.
