The concept of crisis as the basis for the periodization of human development in Vygotsky's work

• Grant number: 23/16878-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Educational Teaching and Learning
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Moura da Costa
• Grantee: Lívia Mendonça Gaio
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The knowledge produced by psychology about human development underpins pedagogical practice in early childhood education. The Soviet psychologist L. S. Vygotsky formulated a periodization of human development based on the relationship between the child and the social environment, which has received great attention in recent decades. He developed the concept of age crises, to demonstrate that development does not evolve continuously, but is also made up of ruptures and involutions, which vary throughout childhood. Due to the importance that the concept of crisis has for such periodization, the general objective of the project is to carry out an investigation into how the concept developed in the author's late works. As a specific objective, the aim is to understand the relationships between the various concepts that make up the explanation of critical ages, such as social situation of development, cooperation, new formations, accessory lines and central lines, among others. Special attention will be paid to the concept of zone of proximal development and will work with primary research sources, with Vygotsky's works being the main reference. As a methodological instrument to carry out the analysis, the Conceptual Text Interpretation Procedures (PICT) will be used. This methodology aims to establish relationships between the scientific concepts elaborated by the author, seeking as much as possible to overcome common sense conceptions that may interfere with the interpretation. It is expected, at the end of the project, to formulate an accurate vision of the dynamics between the child and the social environment, using the concept of crisis as the operator.