Cultural development Pentti Hakkarainen Kajaani University Consortium

What develops? Vygotsky: General structure of consciousness, the whole structure of the age (Personality, life, social existence) Leontiev: Personality, consciousness (Hierarchy of motives)

Stages of development Vygotsky: Basic neoformations as the main criterion/ Crises and stable ages Leontiev: Leading activity El’konin: Leading activity as the main criterion/ Stages and periods of development Crises connected to the development of motivation of the next leading activity

Vygotsky: Process Central / Peripheral lines of development Development of speech Infancy - Peripheral status Early childhood - Central School age - Peripheral status

Vygotsky: Mechanism Social situation of development at the beginning of each age: specific for each age Relation between the child and social reality Social relation = psychological function Basic psychological law: From the psychological function between to individual function Internal contradiction between neoformations and social situation of development e.g. neoformations of play

Transition between stages? How the significance of the previous stage is transformed? How the results of previous stage are utilized as the basis of the next stage? How the significance of the next stage is found? From play to learning: from the dominance of sense making to meaning making and realistic actions

Transitory activity system (TAS) TAS is needed as a springboard between two leading activity systems Why? A need cannot find an appropriate object without preliminary trials A new sense making orientation as the basis of motivation is needed in every new social situation of development (Zaporochets) Narrative learning is a necessary tool in transitions

Narrative learning Transitory activity system between play and learning Narrative frame + realistic problem solving Children’s initiatives are supported by eliminating adult’s dominative teacher’s position