Jammu University 2 year B.Ed. Semester I, Paper 102 Slide

1. Vygotsky’s Socio-
cultural
Perspective-
Limitations
Jammu University
2 Year B.Ed.
Paper 102
Sem: I
Unit: III
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2. Vagueness of Zone of Proximal
Development
 Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is very vague
and does not contain an accurate picture of a child’s
learning style, current ability level, or motivational
factors. It also does not explain the process of
development or how exactly development occurs.
 only knowing the width of chidren's ZPD doesn't
provide an accurate picture of their learning ability,
style of learning, or current level of development
 Having a wide or narrow zone can be desirable or
undesirable, depending on its causes(provides a very
incomplete developmental picture)

3. ZPD cannot be measured (No common,
metric scale exists to measure an individual
child's zone)
generality and stability of an individual's
zone(one domain equal across all domains,
size of a child's zone change over time,
guided participation from adults necessary or
only helpful for development, Is
improvement within the zone long-lasting, or
only temporary)

4. Insufficient Attention to
Developmental Issues
developmental account of both contexts and
children is needed (little description of contexts
of children of various ages or developmental
levels, rarely addresses the nature of the
cognitive skills that are required for responding
to prompts, joint attention, learning from
observation, collaborative dialogue, and other
such processes)
greater attention needs to be paid to a child's
cognitive and physical developmental levels
themselves.
ignores the role of the individual and in contrast
emphasizes the social or collective

5.  mind not seen as independent from the socio-cultural
group
knowing is relative to the situation in which knower
find themselves
not acknowledge that there lies a possibility for
anyone to rise above social norms based on their
ability to generate personal understandings
does not acknowledge gifted students or prodigies,
who may not experience social interaction with a
“more knowledgeable other” but still progress to an
expert level)
assumed to be applicable to all cultures and abilities

6. theory viewed social groups as being a whole
and equal, with the probability to take out the
same meaning from social interaction. But,
collaboration and participation differ for every
individual and thus, inequalities exist for each
person.
Differences in skill-set are always present,
offering constraints in learning. A student with
autism for example, may not extract the same
meaning from group interaction as a student
without autism

7. Incomplete theory, death at a young age
Overtly optimistic
No considerations of gender
Informal research methods
Overemphasis on language and literature
Impractical: requires one to one education
Underemphasizes individuals

8. Ideas of language and thought: language and thought
develop on parallel pathways instead of separate
tracks
For example, a child knows what a ball is before his
is able to say the word. A parent may ask the child to
find the ball and the child is able to retrieve the
correct item before he is able to accurately speak the
word "ball.“
This is direct opposition to Vygotsky's idea that the
spoken word must be acquired before the thought or
concept of ball can develop.

9. language theories have a broad outline and are
not well drawn out. (rely more on the ideas of
cultural influence, cultural helps develop the
individual in language and cognitive
development
According to Vygotsky very little language
and development come from biological
factors. Modern psychologists dismiss this
idea that cultural influences play a dominant
role in development of language.

10. Cultural tools and cognitive
development
 Cultural Tools
A technological tool that can guide a child in
communication.
Following the use of co-constructed help,
children can gain the use of cultural tools
which can help them in their independent
future.
Examples of a cultural tool are televisions,
computers, books, etc.

11. Culture- material and symbolic tools that
accumulate through time and are passed on
through social processes and provide resources
for the developing child
material tools - cultural tools including
physical objects and observable patterns of
behavior such as family routines and social
practices

12. symbolic tools - cultural tools such as abstract
knowledge, beliefs, and values
mediation - the process through which tools
organize people's activities and ways of
relating to their environments

13. explicit instruction - the social process in
which children are purposefully taught to use
the resources of their culture; uses symbolic
communication; animals cannot do this
social enhancement - the most basic social
process of learning to use cultural resources, in
which resources are used simply because
others' activities have made them available in
the immediate environment

14. cumulative cultural evolution - the dynamic
ongoing process of cultural change that is a
consequence of variation that individuals have
produced in the cultural tools they use
niche construction - the active shaping and
modification of individuals' environments by the
individuals own behaviors, activities, and choices
co-construction - the shaping of environments
through interactions between children and their
caregivers, siblings, neighbors, and friends