Psychological development and education in the socio-cultural approach: New directions for an old problem

Abstract

This paper introduces some central issues addressing the relationship between educational practices and developmental processes in the context of socio-cultural approaches. It shows the peculiarities of the specific weight of school practices and their impact on development and its differential valuation under what Wertsch has called the problem of “genetic hierarchies” in the characterization of development. The question about the increasingly decontextualized use of semiotic tools, considered one of the central vectors in development occurred in school settings, is discussed. Finally, we examine some practical implications that these discussions yield for the intervention in the so-called massive “school failure”