Cultural Psychology of Education – serie

Toward the end of his life, the Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky turned away from his earlier work that he has become famous for only to sow the seeds for a new theory. In this theory, affect was to play a central role, there was to be a primacy of social relations, and anything mental (mind, thought, self, other, knowledge) was an event rather than a thing. This is essentially a transactional perspective. In this book, the author articulates a transactional psychology of education drawing on the works of G.H. Mead, J. Dewey, G. Bateson, F. Mikhailov, and E. Il’enkov. All theoretical positions are developed out of videotaped exchanges, thereby giving concrete character to every psychological concept articulated.

​This volume addresses the current situation in higher education and what creative action needs to be taken for the future development of the various systems of higher education. Higher education in the 21st centuries is under immense pressure from various sides. First, there is dramatic limitation of funding from public sources and limited and selective funding support from private sources that is re-constructing the landscape of higher education in most societies around the World. Secondly there is the continuous stream of administrative re-organization efforts of political origins (e.g. “the Bologna process”) that guide the advancement of higher education in our present time.  Increasing privatization of all forms of higher education—from bachelor to doctoral levels—and its corresponding focus on the advancement of the kind of knowledge that has immediate applicability in various spheres of societies leads to the question- what kind of creativity is expected from the new cohorts of students—future makers of knowledge—once the current social re-organization of higher education systems becomes fully established.  To address these questions the international, interdisciplinary cast of authors in this volume provides a multitude of possible scenarios for future development of the systems of higher education.This book on “Sustainable Futures of Higher Education” captures the current trends and perspectives of the Knowledge Makers from various nations of the world on meeting and greeting the challenges of globalization and the pressures of the knowledge economy. It makes a strong case for universities of tomorrow sustaining their autonomous thinking and yet nurturing an environment of collaborative partnership with society, corporate and industry to fuel innovations in plenty and continuous supply of new science and technologies.  Higher Education has been and shall remain a powerful vehicle of national and global transformation. I see a great value of the publication in impacting the minds of the leaders in higher education around the globe for revitalizing the universities.Professor P. B Sharma, President of Association of Indian Universities, AIUHow should the higher education system be in the globalization era? In this book Jaan Valsiner and his colleagues analyze, criticize the existing and propose a new higher education system.  When we say "higher education”, three different layers are supposed to be there-- the lower, the middle and the higher. The latter has the function of production of new knowledges. Without new knowledge, our societies are never improving. Authors warn commercialized systems such as the “Bologna system” overestimate the homogeneity of education.  ““Universities without Borders” would  guarantee both diversity and innovation in the higher education systems.Professor Tatsuya Sato, Dean of Research, Ritsumekan University

This book represents the first extensive introduction to the emerging construct of Educational Self. The new concept describes a specific dimension of the Self, which is elaborated in the course of a person’s school life and is reactivated anytime the person is involved in an educational activity, whether as a student, teacher or parent.The Educational Self (ES) approach was created by the volume editors and is currently being developed at various universities in Europe and Latin America as a way of understanding and operating in educational contexts. The book presents the theoretical framework and the empirical developments of the construct, paving the way for further applications in education. The main locations of the empirical studies are Denmark, Italy, Brazil, Portugal and Colombia, but the research network is steadily expanding to other countries, so that the concept here can be generalized to different cultural contexts.The book addresses a range of contexts and moments in school life. The editors’ introduction presents the construct of ES, the opportunities for further theoretical and empirical developments of the concept, and its potential applications in educational practices. In the remainder of the volume, ES is explored for different age groups (from children to adolescents to higher education), different actors (peers, teachers, parents and their interactions), different contexts (formal education, special institutions, school-family relationships) and different phenomena (disruptive behavior, special needs, value orientation, school failure, etc.). All the studies share a qualitative idiographic approach, which is characteristic of the perspective of cultural psychology in which the ES construct was elaborated.

In a world where the global engagement and international dialogue intensifies, some areas of cultivated knowledge suffer from this dialogue and this has consequences for people and communities. We propose education to be such a case. The global dialogue in education tends to be restricted to and mediated by standardized measurements. Such standards are meant to measure qualities of education and of student behavior and create the sought for condition for normative comparability and competition. The obvious drawback is that cultural variability – in local living as well as in education – is rendered irrelevant. Are there alternatives? The book insists on maintaining the discussion about education on a global level, but rather than moving towards homogenization and standardization of education, the attention is drawn towards the potential for learning from creative fits - and misfits - between concrete local cultures, institutional practices and global aims and standards of education. This work brings together a group of educational and developmental researchers and scholars grappling to find culturally informed and sensitive modes of educating people and communities. Case studies and examples from four geographical contexts are being discussed: China, Brazil, Australia and Europe. While being embedded in these local cultures, the authors share a conceptual grounding in cultural developmental theorizing and a vision for a culturally informed globalized perspective on education. As the theme of the book is learning from each other, the volume also includes commentaries from leading scholars in the field of cultural psychology and education.

In a world where the global engagement and international dialogue intensifies, some areas of cultivated knowledge suffer from this dialogue and this has consequences for people and communities. We propose education to be such a case. The global dialogue in education tends to be restricted to and mediated by standardized measurements. Such standards are meant to measure qualities of education and of student behavior and create the sought for condition for normative comparability and competition. The obvious drawback is that cultural variability – in local living as well as in education – is rendered irrelevant. Are there alternatives? The book insists on maintaining the discussion about education on a global level, but rather than moving towards homogenization and standardization of education, the attention is drawn towards the potential for learning from creative fits - and misfits - between concrete local cultures, institutional practices and global aims and standards of education. This work brings together a group of educational and developmental researchers and scholars grappling to find culturally informed and sensitive modes of educating people and communities. Case studies and examples from four geographical contexts are being discussed: China, Brazil, Australia and Europe. While being embedded in these local cultures, the authors share a conceptual grounding in cultural developmental theorizing and a vision for a culturally informed globalized perspective on education. As the theme of the book is learning from each other, the volume also includes commentaries from leading scholars in the field of cultural psychology and education.

By traveling to different parts of the world, this book provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the current state of adolescent education and demonstrates how education systems are formed by and closely tied to culture. After establishing a theoretical background, the book delves into the particulars of adolescent education and its associated challenges in six countries (India, Kenya, Germany, Brazil, Japan, and Denmark). In tandem with the discussion of institutions, the stories of those who are all too often underserved or left behind are told. Despite the diversity of each education system, the investigation reveals several unifying themes that transcend the specific contexts. The lessons from each example are woven together to demonstrate how the individualized needs of students can best be met, in a vision for the future of educating adolescents."

By traveling to different parts of the world, this book provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the current state of adolescent education and demonstrates how education systems are formed by and closely tied to culture. After establishing a theoretical background, the book delves into the particulars of adolescent education and its associated challenges in six countries (India, Kenya, Germany, Brazil, Japan, and Denmark). In tandem with the discussion of institutions, the stories of those who are all too often underserved or left behind are told. Despite the diversity of each education system, the investigation reveals several unifying themes that transcend the specific contexts. The lessons from each example are woven together to demonstrate how the individualized needs of students can best be met, in a vision for the future of educating adolescents."

​This book is the outcome of a joint collaboration between East China Normal University and the University of Luxembourg, initiated by the Center of Ideas for the Basic Education of the Future (IBEF), and focuses on kindergartens in China from a cultural psychology perspective. By coupling young scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds as research tandems, this book uses an innovative methodological method to reveal a deeply immersing research perspective of the often complicated issues in the Chinese social reality, where long historical tradition and strong motivation for a “modernized” future are fused together and continuously evolve itself into a vibrant and intricate landscape. Meanings and values consciously or unconsciously promoted and conducted in the kindergarten are semiotic devices and they mediate children’s and educator’s daily behaviours and activities, which are constantly navigating among different social institutions and crossing the border of kindergarten. The book discusses the process of children’s socialization in the kindergarten from different angles such as cultural objects, moral education, conflict negotiation, children's drawing analysis and the role of Lego in numeracy development. It also provides an overview of basic educational needs in Chinese kindergartens as well as three commentaries to provide background information and to add a reflective angle for the readers. By reading the book, readers will hopefully go through a constantly transforming process between familiarizing and de-familiarizing along with the research tandem and develop their own understanding of the complex landscape of the Chinese kindergarten and its children as developing subjects constantly living and transcending the context.

​This book is the outcome of a joint collaboration between East China Normal University and the University of Luxembourg, initiated by the Center of Ideas for the Basic Education of the Future (IBEF), and focuses on kindergartens in China from a cultural psychology perspective. By coupling young scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds as research tandems, this book uses an innovative methodological method to reveal a deeply immersing research perspective of the often complicated issues in the Chinese social reality, where long historical tradition and strong motivation for a “modernized” future are fused together and continuously evolve itself into a vibrant and intricate landscape. Meanings and values consciously or unconsciously promoted and conducted in the kindergarten are semiotic devices and they mediate children’s and educator’s daily behaviours and activities, which are constantly navigating among different social institutions and crossing the border of kindergarten. The book discusses the process of children’s socialization in the kindergarten from different angles such as cultural objects, moral education, conflict negotiation, children's drawing analysis and the role of Lego in numeracy development. It also provides an overview of basic educational needs in Chinese kindergartens as well as three commentaries to provide background information and to add a reflective angle for the readers. By reading the book, readers will hopefully go through a constantly transforming process between familiarizing and de-familiarizing along with the research tandem and develop their own understanding of the complex landscape of the Chinese kindergarten and its children as developing subjects constantly living and transcending the context.

This book opens up a fruitful conversation by and between invited academics from Europe and Latin America on the features of online learning in higher education. The authors analyse online education from interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical reflections to reveal the existing tensions and turning this book into a valuable artifact on how learning is shaped when technology comes in-between diverse geographical and social contexts.Like any other human activity, e-learning can be seen as a context-dependent educational system with many objects in mutual interaction. Applying a cultural psychology perspective to this provides new answers to questions such as: How can cultural psychology shed new light on online learning? Why do students and academics still opt for classic classes? What inner boundaries are pushed when studying online? How can online learning be influenced by affect? How do teachers and students mold their identities when they move in and out of online environments?  This book reveals the existing tensions, resistances and appropriation strategies that students and academics from diverse backgrounds and places go through when attending online learning courses in higher education and furthermore shows how these theoretical frameworks can be successfully applied to practice.

This book opens up a fruitful conversation by and between invited academics from Europe and Latin America on the features of online learning in higher education. The authors analyse online education from interdisciplinary theoretical and empirical reflections to reveal the existing tensions and turning this book into a valuable artifact on how learning is shaped when technology comes in-between diverse geographical and social contexts.Like any other human activity, e-learning can be seen as a context-dependent educational system with many objects in mutual interaction. Applying a cultural psychology perspective to this provides new answers to questions such as: How can cultural psychology shed new light on online learning? Why do students and academics still opt for classic classes? What inner boundaries are pushed when studying online? How can online learning be influenced by affect? How do teachers and students mold their identities when they move in and out of online environments?  This book reveals the existing tensions, resistances and appropriation strategies that students and academics from diverse backgrounds and places go through when attending online learning courses in higher education and furthermore shows how these theoretical frameworks can be successfully applied to practice.

This open access book introduces the legacy of Piotr Galperin to a wider audience of researchers, educators and psychologists.  Previous translations of Galperin’s work present only some aspects of his conceptual thinking; however, his main contribution to the general, genetic and pedagogical psychology as a unique holistic and systemic approach to studying of psychological phenomena and processes, mechanisms of their formation and development, is still quite unknown in most parts of the world.The eight lectures chosen for the book have been translated from Russian for the first time, and they belong to the Study of the Formation of Human Mental Activity from Galperin’s collection of the Lectures in Psychology (Galperin, 2002). These eight lectures present the central ideas of Galperin’s pedagogical theory, and they conceptualise learning to learn approach and argue how teaching and learning process can enhance the development of higher mental functions with learnersand therefore enhance the development of students as learners. These ideas may be of primary importance to educational practitioners and researchers interested in developmental learning and teaching approach given the current concerns of educational practice that schools struggle to prepare students for their adult and the need to develop the capacity in lifelong learning with students in the 21st century.

This book is a compilation of theoretical and empirical advances related to the phenomenon of inner speech  in education, and is aimed at academics and researchers in the area of psychology, education and culture.Inner speech has been a focus of multidisciplinary interest. It is a long-standing phenomenon of study in philosophy, psychology, and anthropology. Researchers from different disciplines have turned their efforts to understand this inherent experience of being "talking to oneself". In psychology, Vygotsky managed to develop a complete description of the phenomenon, giving rise to a great line of research related to inner speech in the human experience.This book derives from an international research program, related to cultural psychology, socio-constructivism, developmental psychology and education. It opens the door for new debates and emerging ideas.

This book is a compilation of theoretical and empirical advances related to the phenomenon of inner speech  in education, and is aimed at academics and researchers in the area of psychology, education and culture.Inner speech has been a focus of multidisciplinary interest. It is a long-standing phenomenon of study in philosophy, psychology, and anthropology. Researchers from different disciplines have turned their efforts to understand this inherent experience of being "talking to oneself". In psychology, Vygotsky managed to develop a complete description of the phenomenon, giving rise to a great line of research related to inner speech in the human experience.This book derives from an international research program, related to cultural psychology, socio-constructivism, developmental psychology and education. It opens the door for new debates and emerging ideas.

This book represents the very first, so far unpublished, translation of Piotr Galperin’s (1902-1988) dissertation, defended in 1938 during his employment in the All-Ukrainian Psycho-Neurological Academy (AUPA) in Kharkiv, Ukraine. In his candidate dissertation Galperin examined the differences in tool use between humans and animals and argued that there was a fundamental difference between tools developed and used by humans and the auxiliary means used by animals. Galperin showed that human use of tools totally differs from the way tools are utilised by animals as ‘an extension’ of their limbs. He suggested that tools created and used by humans encapsulate cultural and historical experience developed in human practices which have to be mastered. Human engagement with these tools reorganise the existing and enhance the development of new psychological functions and that human consciousness originates and develops in the external tool-mediated activities. The development of new psychological functions stimulates the systemic and meaningful organisation of human consciousness. In addition, as opposed to animal mind, human consciousness undergoes developmental transformations initiated in tools- and speech-mediated activities.Galperin’s research reveals the unity of the external tool-mediated and the internal psychological activity of humans. These findings are influential as they adopted the foundations of the theory of Vygotsky and extended them without changing the essence of Vygotsky’s legacy. Galperin’s dissertation can be considered as a missing jig-saw puzzle which connects the legacy of Vygotsky, the contribution of Leontiev and their followers who worked in the cultural-historical and activity traditions. This translation of the dissertation in English makes it available for the cultural-historical scholars in the West and provides insights into the invaluable contributions of Piotr Galperin.

This book represents the very first, so far unpublished, translation of Piotr Galperin’s (1902-1988) dissertation, defended in 1938 during his employment in the All-Ukrainian Psycho-Neurological Academy (AUPA) in Kharkiv, Ukraine. In his candidate dissertation Galperin examined the differences in tool use between humans and animals and argued that there was a fundamental difference between tools developed and used by humans and the auxiliary means used by animals. Galperin showed that human use of tools totally differs from the way tools are utilised by animals as ‘an extension’ of their limbs. He suggested that tools created and used by humans encapsulate cultural and historical experience developed in human practices which have to be mastered. Human engagement with these tools reorganise the existing and enhance the development of new psychological functions and that human consciousness originates and develops in the external tool-mediated activities. The development of new psychological functions stimulates the systemic and meaningful organisation of human consciousness. In addition, as opposed to animal mind, human consciousness undergoes developmental transformations initiated in tools- and speech-mediated activities.Galperin’s research reveals the unity of the external tool-mediated and the internal psychological activity of humans. These findings are influential as they adopted the foundations of the theory of Vygotsky and extended them without changing the essence of Vygotsky’s legacy. Galperin’s dissertation can be considered as a missing jig-saw puzzle which connects the legacy of Vygotsky, the contribution of Leontiev and their followers who worked in the cultural-historical and activity traditions. This translation of the dissertation in English makes it available for the cultural-historical scholars in the West and provides insights into the invaluable contributions of Piotr Galperin.

This collective volume presents an innovative pedagogical model of research-based international student mobility called “research-tandem”. The research-tandem model and its pedagogical philosophy provide insights for the involvement of students in research from very early stages of the academic trajectory in higher education. The book also presents several interdisciplinary empirical studies (i.e., special needs education, cultural psychology, anthropology, etc.) produced by undergraduate students’ teams from different countries who participated in the mobility. Finally, commentaries from invited scholars contribute to offer valuable feedback and future directions to the tandem model.

This collective volume presents an innovative pedagogical model of research-based international student mobility called “research-tandem”. The research-tandem model and its pedagogical philosophy provide insights for the involvement of students in research from very early stages of the academic trajectory in higher education. The book also presents several interdisciplinary empirical studies (i.e., special needs education, cultural psychology, anthropology, etc.) produced by undergraduate students’ teams from different countries who participated in the mobility. Finally, commentaries from invited scholars contribute to offer valuable feedback and future directions to the tandem model.

This book represents an intellectual journey through the history, culture, and training of psychologists in Latin America to transcend borders. It analyzes the inception of academic programs in each country in the region, exploring the socio-political and economic context, and delves into the conceptual, methodological, and epistemological aspects of training. Similarly, it discusses how psychology prepares professionals for their roles in society and provides updated data on the discipline's growth in the region. Furthermore, it promotes international and intercultural dialogue, enriching the global understanding of psychology. The book's emphasis on adopting a historical and cultural approach is essentially an effort to introduce a critical component to the analysis of psychologist professional training. This component adds value for the reader and aids in understanding how Latin American psychology has been shaped by historical events, social movements, government policies,and the diverse cultural traditions of the region. Readers will gain a profound understanding of why psychology has developed in a particular way in each Latin American country, shedding light on significant variations in psychological practice and theory in this part of the world. Essentially, this work constitutes an invaluable resource for academics, professionals, and anyone interested in understanding the intersection between psychology and the rich historical and cultural diversity of Latin America.

This book represents an intellectual journey through the history, culture, and training of psychologists in Latin America to transcend borders. It analyzes the inception of academic programs in each country in the region, exploring the socio-political and economic context, and delves into the conceptual, methodological, and epistemological aspects of training. Similarly, it discusses how psychology prepares professionals for their roles in society and provides updated data on the discipline's growth in the region. Furthermore, it promotes international and intercultural dialogue, enriching the global understanding of psychology. The book's emphasis on adopting a historical and cultural approach is essentially an effort to introduce a critical component to the analysis of psychologist professional training. This component adds value for the reader and aids in understanding how Latin American psychology has been shaped by historical events, social movements, government policies,and the diverse cultural traditions of the region. Readers will gain a profound understanding of why psychology has developed in a particular way in each Latin American country, shedding light on significant variations in psychological practice and theory in this part of the world. Essentially, this work constitutes an invaluable resource for academics, professionals, and anyone interested in understanding the intersection between psychology and the rich historical and cultural diversity of Latin America.

This book provides a comprehensive discussion of important concepts from cultural psychology applied in the fields of education, arts, and the process of meaning-making across different contexts. Through an insightful exploration, this book navigates the intricate connections between cultural contexts, psychological processes, meaning-making, and creative expressions. Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks and empirical studies, this book offers a multidimensional perspective on how cultural factors shape educational practices, influence learning outcomes, guide meaning-making in diverse spheres of life, and contribute to the development of artistic endeavors. The book delves into diverse topics such as cultural identity formation, multicultural education, the impact of cultural beliefs on teaching and learning methodologies, and meaning-making on sociocultural contexts. It also explores the role of cultural heritage in artistic expression, the influence of societal norms, and the ways in which individuals from different cultural backgrounds interpret, make meaning of divers kind of phenomena. This book encourages readers to embrace cultural diversity, foster intercultural understanding, and harness the power of cultural psychology to enrich educational experiences, meaning-making processes in multiple contexts, and artistic endeavors. It serves as a valuable resource for educators, psychologists, artists, and anyone interested in understanding the profound impact of culture on human cognition, behavior, and creative expression.

This book provides a “context” of discussion for researchers and educational experts in order to rethink the relationship between actors, practices and borders within the educational contexts. The research in educational psychology has often challenged the concept of “educational context”. According to the different theoretical frameworks, the construct of contexts, their borders and the dimensions to be taken into account have all been defined in different ways. The book offers a reflection that goes from theory to practice and backward from practice to theory. The main research questions the book addresses are how actors, i.e. teachers, parents and students, educators and professionals, with their own identity and social representations, build their educational practices or their shared cultural spaces where knowledge is generated, defining the borders of the educational contexts. The book proposes that a border is a type of membrane within and outside the educational setting bringing together different actors, groups and cultures. The book presents the perspectives of scholars and educational experts from various parts of the world, including Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. They shed light on what happens at the border in different cultural contexts and what the relationship is between the educational setting and the other life contexts or micro-cultures.

This book celebrates the 100th birthday of Jerome S. Bruner, one of the most relevant scholars in contemporary psychology. It shows how Bruner’s oeuvre and contributions to psychology, education and law are still applicable today and full of unexplored possibilities. The volume brings together contributions from Bruner’s students and colleagues, all of whom use his legacy to explore the future of psychology in in Bruner’s spirit of interpretation. Rather than being a mere celebration, the volume shows a “genuine interest for the emergence of the novelty” and examines the potentialities of Bruner’s work in cultural psychology, discussing such concepts as ambivalence, intersubjectivity, purpose, possibilities, and wonderment. Combining international and interdisciplinary perspectives, this volume tells the tale of Jerome Bruner’s academic life and beyond.

This book takes up the agenda of the late (but unknown) L. S. Vygotsky, who had turned to the philosopher Spinoza to develop a holistic approach to psychology, an approach that no longer dichotomized the body and mind, intellect and affect, or the individual and the social. In this approach, there is only one substance, which manifests itself in different ways in the thinking body, including as biology and culture. The manifestation as culture is premised on the existence of the social.In much of current educational psychology, there are unresolved contradictions that have their origin in the opposition between body and mind, individual and collective, and structure and process—including the different nature of intellect and affect or the difference between knowledge and its application. Many of the same contradictions are repeated in constructivist approaches, which do not overcome dichotomies but rather acerbate them by individualizing and intellectualizing our knowledgeable participation in recognizably exhibiting and producing the everyday cultural world. Interestingly enough, L. S. Vygotsky, who is often used as a referent for making arguments about inter- and intrasubjective “mental” “constructions,” developed, towards the end of his life, a Spinozist approach according to which there is only one substance. This one substance manifests itself in two radically different ways: body (material, biology) and mind (society, culture). But there are not two substances that are combined into a unit; there is only one substance. Once such an approach is adopted, the classical question of cognitive scientists about how symbols are grounded in the world comes to be recognized as an artefact of the theory. Drawing on empirical materials from different learning settings—including parent-child, school, and workplace settings—this book explores the opportunities and implications that this non-dualist approach has for educational research and practice.

This book sets out a proposal for applying psychological and educational psychology concepts to improve work with children and young people. It also suggests how some of the criticism aimed at pedagogical-psychology practice can be answered.In several respects educational psychology practice seems to be in a transition phase and could even be said to be suffering an identity crisis: educational establishments and education policy alike are looking for different skills than those the psychology profession traditionally provides, and people are generally questioning the relevance and applicability of pedagogical-psychological counseling. The book is based on the fundamental premise that good professional practice is contingent upon circumstances that allow practitioners to apply their knowledge, experience and skills in the specific encounter with a specific task. This means that the ability to act pragmatically and creatively is, and will increasinglybe, an important skill not only for educational psychologists, but also for psychologists in general.  In other words, psychologists must be able to contribute to tasks in new ways and new contexts when required. Intended primarily for students of psychology, school psychologists and other professional groups that provide counseling in schools, the book is also a valuable resource for the various groups that use pedagogical-psychology tools and insights in their work with children and young people.

This edited volume offers cross-country and cross-cultural applications of Dialogical Self Theory within the field of education. It combines the work of internationally recognized authors to demonstrate how theoretical and practical innovations emerge at the highly fertile interface of external and internal dialogues. The Theory, developed by Hubert Hermans and his colleagues in the past 25 years, responds fruitfully to the issue of educational experts hitherto working in splendid isolation and does so by combining two aspects of Dialogical Self Theory: the dialogue among individuals as well as dialogical processes within individuals, in this context students and teachers. It is the first book in which Dialogical Self Theory is applied to the field of education. In 13 chapters, authors from different cultures and continents produce theoretical considerations and a wide variety of practical procedures showing that this interface is an ideal ground for the production of new theoretical, methodological, and practical approaches that enrich the work of educational researchers and specialists. Academics, practitioners, and postgraduate students in the field of education, particularly those who are interested in the innovative and community-enhancing potentials of dialogue, will find this book valuable and informative.  Ultimately the work presented here is intended to inspire more self-reflection and creative ways to engage in new conversations that can respond to real-world issues and in which education can play a more vital role.

This book elaborates on issues regarding alterity, values, and human development in different educational contexts, serving from young children to adolescents to adults, and it claims for the need of educational contexts to consider their responsibilities regarding the development of the sociomoral dimension of human beings. The authors, experienced theorists and researchers sharing a cultural psychological perspective, provide a fresh understanding of educational institutions, and elaborate on how initiatives aiming at promoting dialogical practices and ethical orientation within educational contexts can be productive. They provide teachers, researchers, psychologists and parents, as well as the general public, with useful knowledge in order to contribute to theoretical and practical advances concerning education and human development.

This book celebrates the 100th birthday of Jerome S. Bruner, one of the most relevant scholars in contemporary psychology. It shows how Bruner’s oeuvre and contributions to psychology, education and law are still applicable today and full of unexplored possibilities. The volume brings together contributions from Bruner’s students and colleagues, all of whom use his legacy to explore the future of psychology in in Bruner’s spirit of interpretation. Rather than being a mere celebration, the volume shows a “genuine interest for the emergence of the novelty” and examines the potentialities of Bruner’s work in cultural psychology, discussing such concepts as ambivalence, intersubjectivity, purpose, possibilities, and wonderment. Combining international and interdisciplinary perspectives, this volume tells the tale of Jerome Bruner’s academic life and beyond.

This book takes up the agenda of the late (but unknown) L. S. Vygotsky, who had turned to the philosopher Spinoza to develop a holistic approach to psychology, an approach that no longer dichotomized the body and mind, intellect and affect, or the individual and the social. In this approach, there is only one substance, which manifests itself in different ways in the thinking body, including as biology and culture. The manifestation as culture is premised on the existence of the social.In much of current educational psychology, there are unresolved contradictions that have their origin in the opposition between body and mind, individual and collective, and structure and process—including the different nature of intellect and affect or the difference between knowledge and its application. Many of the same contradictions are repeated in constructivist approaches, which do not overcome dichotomies but rather acerbate them by individualizing and intellectualizing our knowledgeable participation in recognizably exhibiting and producing the everyday cultural world. Interestingly enough, L. S. Vygotsky, who is often used as a referent for making arguments about inter- and intrasubjective “mental” “constructions,” developed, towards the end of his life, a Spinozist approach according to which there is only one substance. This one substance manifests itself in two radically different ways: body (material, biology) and mind (society, culture). But there are not two substances that are combined into a unit; there is only one substance. Once such an approach is adopted, the classical question of cognitive scientists about how symbols are grounded in the world comes to be recognized as an artefact of the theory. Drawing on empirical materials from different learning settings—including parent-child, school, and workplace settings—this book explores the opportunities and implications that this non-dualist approach has for educational research and practice.