ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the reasons why this 'socio-cultural' perspective is gaining increasing attention as a way of understanding learning and education. It explores the socio-cultural viewpoint will begin with one of the best known theorists in the area, Lev Vygotsky. The chapter looks at key elements of his theoretical framework and show how it has contributed to further branches of socio-cultural theory in psychology. Lev Vygotsky also explores the work of Engestrom and his collaborators, whose 'activity systems theory' model seeks to expand on the Vygotskian perspective that learning is mediated by cultural tools and resources. The chapter explores the way particular cultural practices and tools that exist within a specific context both enable and constrain learning activity and shape learner identities in that context. It hopes to understand the thinking of any learner people must view that learner and their cognitive processes through the lens of their cultural context.
