Gal'perian instruction in the ZPD

Arievitch and Stetsenko’s article (this issue) – on Piotr Gal’perin’s approach to cultural tools and cognitive development – illustrates the theoretical transformation currently taking place within educational psychology. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) has certainly become one of the inspiring founders of this transformation. As a psychologist following in his footsteps, Piotr Gal’perin (1902–1988) could justifiably be called a Vygotskian, although he departed from Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and took the next step by further developing its educational implications. Until now, Gal’perin stands apart from Western educational psychology, but several authors have mentioned the potential of his work. Apart from Arievitch and Stetsenko, these are Amano [1999], Arievitch & Van der Veer [1995], Gallimore & Tharp [1990], Grigorenko [1998], Haenen [1996a, 1996b], Karpov & Haywood [1998], and Wertsch [1995]. In Russian psychology, Gal’perin’s name is well known and widely acclaimed. Arievitch and Stetsenko give an overview of Gal’perin’s position on instruction and its relation to cognitive development. I will add to their article by briefly sketching one historical aspect of Gal’perin’s place in Russian educational psychology. Then, I will illustrate his approach using the case of handwriting, a basic cultural tool mediating the child’s cognitive functioning.