Teaching–learning and development as activist projects of historical Becoming: expanding Vygotsky's approach to pedagogy

Abstract

This paper considers pedagogical implications of Vygotsky's project expansively reconstructed on the grounds of the notion that collaborative purposeful transformation of the world is the principled grounding for teaching–learning and development. Using a transformative ontology of continuous historical Becoming through answerable deeds in which cultural tools are seen as omnipresent, I argue that knowing and learning are rendered meaningful through their embedding as tools in identity development that represents an activist project of forming and carrying out purposeful life agenda aimed at contributing to social practices. Therefore, teaching–learning needs to integrate knowledge revealed: (a) as stemming out of social practice – as its constituent tools; (b) through social practice – where students need to rediscover these tools through their own active pursuit, efforts and inquiry; and (c) for social practice – where knowledge and ‘facts’ are rendered meaningful in light of their possible use in activities significant to students, that is, engendered by and engendering their identities.

Keywords:

• Vygotsky
• education
• pedagogy
• cultural tools
• mediation

Notes

1. I will be extensively drawing on my previous works in line with Yew Jin Lee's and Wolff-Michael Roth's (the editors of this issue) charges that the authors address how their particular version of a cultural and historical approach can contribute to understanding pedagogy.