Critical Review of Chapter 6: Interaction Between Learning and Development Work: The Social Formation of the Mind – Lev S. Vygotsky

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Maria Camila Castillo Cabezas
Universidad del Valle, Colombia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4086-9686

Abstract

The aim of this review is to critically analyze Chapter 6 of The Social Formation of the Mind by Vygotsky, examining its central thesis on the dialectical relationship between learning and development. With an analytical approach that connects Vygotskian theory to contemporary perspectives, the text expands the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD is presented as Vygotsky’s solution to views that either separate or equate these two processes, defining it as the space between the actual and potential levels of development, activated through social mediation. The analysis concludes, through dialogue with situated cognition and distributed intelligence theories, that learning is a social, cultural, and mediated engine, fundamental for awakening internal cognitive potential.

Item information
Published: Nov 21, 2025
Issue: No. 18 (2025): Revista Convergencia Educativa
Section: Reseñas de Libros
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29035/rce.18.69
Keywords: Vygotsky, Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Social Mediation, Situated Cognition, Learning

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How to Cite
Castillo Cabezas, M. C. (2025). Critical Review of Chapter 6: Interaction Between Learning and Development Work: The Social Formation of the Mind – Lev S. Vygotsky. Convergencia Educativa, 18, 69-79. https://doi.org/10.29035/rce.18.69
References

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning (Technical Report No. 481). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Center for the Study of Reading.

Herrero, C., & Brown, M. (2010). Distributed cognition in community-based education. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 15(2), 253–268. http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=17517246008

Pea, R. D. (1993). Practices of distributed intelligence and designs for education. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 47–81). Cambridge University Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1991). A formação social da mente: O desenvolvimento dos processos psicológicos superiores (J. C. Neto, L. S. M. Barreto & S. C. Afeche, Trads.; 4ª ed.). Martins Fontes. (Obra original publicada em 1978).

Wertsch, J. V. (1991). Voices of the mind: A sociocultural approach to mediated action. Harvard University Press.

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