Exploring a Vygotskian Theory of Education and Its Evolutionary Foundations

Abstract Despite his popularity in educational discourses, Lev S. Vygotsky tends to be read mainly as an psychologist or learning theorist. His potential contribution a theory of education remains largely undiscussed. The Zone Proximal Development (ZPD) is often misunderstood sort “educational tool,” which severely reduces the richness concept emerging from Vygotsky's works. In this essay, Aline Nardo argues that acknowledging evolutionary underpinnings thinking would enrich discussion Vygotsky. This substrate works, she argues, has been strikingly underappreciated, and her analysis seeks address gap by building upon analogy between Marxist negation Darwinian adaptation paradigm conceptual differentiation development order draw out pedagogical dimension ZPD. Pedagogical interaction, reading Vygotsky, qualitatively different peer interactions, it connected rather than learning. perspective, concludes, important implications for role teacher definition “the pedagogical.”