ABSTRACT
The importance of emotions in the way people understand and respond to the world is due to the influence of the 'self' in all their knowing. The place of self in their knowing reflects the important fact that learning takes place in relationships, and relationships are pre-eminently the sphere of the affective – of value and emotion. This chapter discusses the importance of the 'self-schema'. Once formed, this continues to develop throughout the rest of the lives. This forms the dominating schema for interaction and learning, imposing coherence and direction on experience, establishing a relationship between past, present and future and between separate areas of experience. The chapter also explores the account of identity formation and development. The role of society in the development of identity emphasizes the importance of relationships in learning of all kinds. The chapter further discusses the zone of proximal development.
