The historical-cultural theory

Contributions to the psychopedagogical practices

Abstract

This article’s main objective is to understand how the Historical-Cultural Theory can contribute for the practices and interventions in the field of Psychopedagogy. To accomplish this, the specific objectives are: To talk about Historical-Cultural Psychology and its main concepts; relate the concepts of learning and development in Vygotsky with the psychopedagogical practice. It assumes that every practice must be guided by a theoretical and methodological bias, aiming at coherence. That way, it will be briefly discussed how the fundamental concepts of the theory can be applied on Psychopedagogy practice, and how the Historical-Cultural Theory sees the role of the psychopedagogists and their interventions. The methodology used was of qualitative nature, consisting of a theoretical articulation between the main concepts of Historical-Cultural Theory with the practices in Psychopedagogy, as well as with the concepts of development and learning. It is concluded that the Historical-Cultural Theory contributes considerably to the studies on development and learning, as well as in the vision and performance of the Psychopedagogy. Beyond that, the practical application of its concepts can guide the practice of the psychopedagogue, whether in methods of analysis of the learning subject, or of intervention. The psychopedagogue, as well as the diverse resources it uses, function as a mediator between the learner and the knowledge, helping to promote the Proximal Development Zone, which aims at the learner’s autonomy process.