ABSTRACT
Sociocultural theory largely draws from the work of the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. For sociocultural theorists, language is key to such internalisation, as social speech becomes inner speech with children’s development, thus shifting the direction of activity from external control by adults to internal control and self-regulation by children themselves. In ethnography researchers discuss the ‘insider/outsider dilemma’. In many countries, educators come predominantly from the dominant culture, and minority cultures are under-represented on teaching staff. Educators’ can lead them to expect misbehaviour from children from different cultural backgrounds from their own, and this can cause them to treat children differently. In primary schools and early childhood education settings adults can limit the jarring challenges that new environments can present to children, and assist and strengthen the development of children’s sense of identity by working to really get to know each individual child, her likes and dislikes, her fears and her dreams.
