The authors in this collection use Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory of human development to frame their analyses of schooling, with particular emphasis on the ways in which literacy practices are mediated by social interaction and cultural artifacts. This volume extends Vygotsky's cultural-historical theoretical framework to embrace nuances of learning and development that are influenced by culture as instantiated through the experiences of race, ethnicity, and language variation. This collection serves as a form of collaborative inquiry that itself will stimulate further consideration of these topics and further learning with Vygotsky about the ways in which individuals and social groups inquire and learn.

According to Gordon and Bridglall, the ability to learn is more of a developed human capacity than a fixed aptitude with which one is born. They argue that the emergence of academic ability is associated with exposure to specialized cultures that privilege the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that schools reward. Children who are born to and raised in these cultures tend to do well in school, while those who are not exposed to such cultures tend seldom rise to high levels of academic achievement. Through a collection of interesting essays, Affirmative Development: Cultivating Academic Ability attempts to address how we can deliberately develop academic ability in those children who are not raised under conditions that predispose them to develop high levels of academic ability.

According to Gordon and Bridglall, the ability to learn is more of a developed human capacity than a fixed aptitude with which one is born. They argue that the emergence of academic ability is associated with exposure to specialized cultures that privilege the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that schools reward. Children who are born to and raised in these cultures tend to do well in school, while those who are not exposed to such cultures tend seldom rise to high levels of academic achievement. Through a collection of interesting essays, Affirmative Development: Cultivating Academic Ability attempts to address how we can deliberately develop academic ability in those children who are not raised under conditions that predispose them to develop high levels of academic ability.

Edited by a diverse group of expert collaborators, the Handbook of the Cultural Foundations of Learning is a landmark volume that brings together cutting edge research on culture and learning to explore, in depth, the impact of a student s cultural background on their experience in a classroom. Traditionally, culture has been conceptualized in two distinct ways in educational settings: under the first model, culture is seen as an inherent marker of student identity, which either impedes or encourages educational success. In contrast, a second body of work envisions culture as a set of social practices, where the relation between culture and learning becomes highly theoretical, with research focused primarily on the role of social context in learning.

By placing these two models in dialogue, the editors of this volume synthesize contemporary research to elaborate a new vision of the cultural nature of learning, moving beyond summary to actually reshape the field such that studies of culture in the learning sciences and studies of equity of educational outcomes are joined.

Major topics addressed will include: language, tools, and mediation in learning; environments and settings of learning; methodological implications and innovations; and policy implications of a science of learning that places culture at its core. With the recent, increased focus on culture and equity within the educational research community more generally, this volume thus presents a sweeping, innovative treatment of what has become one of the field s most timely and relevant topics.
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Edited by a diverse group of expert collaborators, the Handbook of the Cultural Foundations of Learning is a landmark volume that brings together cutting edge research on culture and learning to explore, in depth, the impact of a student s cultural background on their experience in a classroom. Traditionally, culture has been conceptualized in two distinct ways in educational settings: under the first model, culture is seen as an inherent marker of student identity, which either impedes or encourages educational success. In contrast, a second body of work envisions culture as a set of social practices, where the relation between culture and learning becomes highly theoretical, with research focused primarily on the role of social context in learning.

By placing these two models in dialogue, the editors of this volume synthesize contemporary research to elaborate a new vision of the cultural nature of learning, moving beyond summary to actually reshape the field such that studies of culture in the learning sciences and studies of equity of educational outcomes are joined.

Major topics addressed will include: language, tools, and mediation in learning; environments and settings of learning; methodological implications and innovations; and policy implications of a science of learning that places culture at its core. With the recent, increased focus on culture and equity within the educational research community more generally, this volume thus presents a sweeping, innovative treatment of what has become one of the field s most timely and relevant topics.
"

The authors in this collection use Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory of human development to frame their analyses of schooling, with particular emphasis on the ways in which literacy practices are mediated by social interaction and cultural artifacts. This volume extends Vygotsky's cultural-historical theoretical framework to embrace nuances of learning and development that are influenced by culture as instantiated through the experiences of race, ethnicity, and language variation. This collection serves as a form of collaborative inquiry that itself will stimulate further consideration of these topics and further learning with Vygotsky about the ways in which individuals and social groups inquire and learn.