Vygotsky and disability

nate (schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu)
Sat, 23 May 1998 09:13:12 -0500

Someone recently posted the url of the education dictionary,
Dictionary of Education PLUS.
http://dictionary.soe.umich.edu/plus/index.html
I was browsing the dictionary and came to the following
definition of Vygotsky and disability. I was puzzled by the 5th
point which more or less argued that in "disabled" children
cognitive and cultural development (instructed learning) do not
merge. I am curious of any thoughts on this point.

Nate

Dictionary of Education PLUS
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v
w y z

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Vygotsky's epistemology of disability

Thus, what have we learned from the Vygotsirian epistemology of
disability?

1. Disability, a negative term, can be transformed to a positive
one that will enable us to examine the unique and creative ways
in which the so-called disabled child develops.

2. The development of the disabled child is thus qualitatively
different, rather than slow or inferior in a quantitative
matrix.

3. With the help of appropriate social supports, disabled
children will have one less obstacle to overcome, which is low
self-esteem and inferiority complex.

4. Intellectual abilities are diverse and heterogeneous in both
so-called disabled and normal children, and their development
proceeds in unique ways in the context of their sociocultural
milieu.

5. Whereas in most nondisabled children intellectual development
and the development of cultural learning converge, in most
so-called disabled children, they do not. <In a prior passage
the statement was made that cultural learning is instructed
learning.>

J. P. Das, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
(1995), Some Thoughts on Two Aspects of Vygotsky's Work,
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST, 30(2) 93-97

Nate Schmolze
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9148/index.html
schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu