Piaget and Vygotsky in XXI Century: Discourse in Early Childhood Education

The book provides a comprehensive analyses of Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories implementation in modern preschool education. It analyzes the problem of the relationship between the natural and the cultural in the context of Vygotsky and Jean Piaget theories. Their discourses complemented each other: whereas Vygotsky developed his theory in the direction from society (culture) to the individual child, Piaget’s movement was the opposite: from individual child to society. These two approaches confront modern world with the need to analyze the problem of childhood: is childhood a period of cultural exploration or is it a special form of relationship in which both the egocentrism and consciousness of the child, and the egocentrism and consciousness of culture are represented?
Readers will gain insight into the methodology that makes possible to unite up-to-date views based on Vygotsky and Piaget theories on child development and education.

Nikolay Veraksa is a Professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leading Researcher of the Russian Academy of Education, Moscow City University, Chair of the UNESCO Chair in Early Childhood Education and Development, Honored Doctor of Gothenburg University. Has an experience as an invited editor of the International Journal of Early Years Education (2011), European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (2014); published book Vygotsky’s Theory in Early Childhood Education and Research (edited by Nikolay Veraksa and Sonja Sheridan) - Routledge, 2018.

Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson is Professor at University of Gothenburg. Her research interest focuses on didactic issues, that is, how preschools can contribute to children’s learning. She also devoted her research time to children’s learning in literature, ethics, mathematics, and ICT, as well as the youngest children in preschool. Further, she worked on a meta-analysis of all the empirical research performed in her research group regarding and developing a theoretical foundation for preschool education science.