Russian followers of Vygotsky have expanded his ideas into a theory that integrates cognitive, motivational, and social aspects of child development–emphasizing the role of children’s activity as mediated by adults in their development. This theory has become the basis for an innovative analysis of periods in child development and of the mechanism of children’s transitions from one period to the next. The neo-Vygotskian approach to child development is thus introduced to English-speaking readers in this volume.
