ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an introduction to some of the issues raised by the development of the cultural historical schools that have sought inspiration from the work of the Russian scholar L. S. Vygotsky. It presents a recent discussion of the possibilities afforded by an expansion of Vygotsky's notions of pedagogy: teaching-learning needs to integrate knowledge revealed: as stemming out of social practice; through social practice; and for social practice. The 'Vygotskies' who are being created in the early years of the twenty-first century in the West, as well as in post-Soviet Russia, are diverse and must be seen in their own cultural context. This political, social and historical filtering, selection, transformation and assimilation of the original texts could be used as justification for a revival of some form of Vygotskian fundamentalism searching for the true meaning and message of the author.
