ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to investigate various ways that power has been taken up in the learning sciences. I begin with a brief description of the more dominant, individualist cognitive theories prevalent in the learning sciences, and explain some of the limitations of cognitive theories in regards to studying issues of power. For the remainder of the chapter, I will describe six central themes of sociocultural theory, and show how researchers have investigated the relationship between power and learning via each of these themes. I will also point out the limits of sociocultural perspectives on power up to this point. By the end of the chapter, I hope readers will have a good sense of how sociocultural perspectives conceive of learning, and will be prepared to take on the broad issues that are raised by critical theories.
