Abstract
Early childhood education (ECE) is a concept that requires maximum attention from parents and educators due to being the basis for a child's cognitive and psychological development and growth before the transition from preschool to primary education. Therefore, understanding the holistic approach to child development is a crucial foundation in early childhood education. This textbook is an essential resource for early childhood teachers that captures the main information about the theory developed by Lev Vygotsky. The third edition of the book Tools of Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education is a welcome addition to the literature exploring Vygotsky's approach to early childhood education around the world. There are two reasons why the third edition of this book is important for readers. First, the third edition introduces a greater variety of experimental examples that help clarify fundamental concepts, particularly experimental examples in the field of early childhood education, from infancy to elementary school. These examples are then expanded to link them to various classroom practices that teachers can implement on their own. Second, the third edition represents an enhancement of the first and second editions including up-to-date teaching strategies and practices based on the latest research and theories, making the book more relevant and useful for practising teachers and early years educators.
Bodrova and Leong's book is an excellent introduction to the powerful theory of learning and development created by Lev Vygotsky and his colleagues. This book is the third edition of the publication consisting of three main sections; those are (1) The Vygotskian Framework, (2) Strategies for Development and Learning, and (3) Applying the Vygotskian Approach to Development and Learning in Early Childhood. Each section consists of 4–6 chapters. Bodrova and Leong introduce educators of Vygotsky's ideas which consist of four main principles as an effort to develop educational psychology for children. The authors highlight concepts such as the zone of near development, the important role of play in learning, and the significance of social interaction in children's learning process. This book also provides practical strategies for educators to integrate Vygotskian principles, especially scaffolding, into curriculum and teaching, especially early childhood education.
Since early childhood education has received a great deal of attention, those who followed Vygotsky's theory have developed various theories related to cognitive development and/in early childhood education. This important book aims to answer the problem of limited practical theory in developing children's psychology and education in the early childhood classroom. The authors propose that Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of child development is significant in the learning process as it emphasizes the role of interactions in cognitive development. The importance of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of child development lies in its foundational belief that cognitive development occurs as a result of social interactions. Cultural and social context is essential in shaping a child's learning and development. The whole first section of the book proved that children must learn through interactions since they have opportunities to internalize information, learn new competencies and acquire meaningful ways of thinking or behaving. This book describes learning as inherently collaborative, as children internalize knowledge and skills through their interactions with adults and peers. This perspective underscores the role of social engagement in facilitating cognitive growth and emphasizes that educational processes should be designed to support and enhance these collaborative interactions. That's why the process of learning should be implemented collaboratively.
Further, this book evaluates the comprehensive theoretical and practical stages of children's psychological development and education. The function of Tools of the Mind is to provide early childhood educators and teachers with both theoretical and practical knowledge for designing and implementing educational programmes based on social and collaborative approaches. Through this book teachers can gain fundamental insights into child development, learning and education. Additionally, the practical function of this book is to support teachers who wish to implement early childhood education in the classroom with various examples of scaffolding tactics (such as scaffolding through mediation, language or collaborative activities) and the application of sociocultural concepts in early childhood education.
Concrete explanations and strategies on how to guide early childhood learning and development are explained in detail. Section I clarifies the Vygotskian approach to a child's development in general. It also highlights the procedure for acquiring mental development and compares it with several theories related to development, learning, and education in early childhood. Those theories include the constructivism approach (Jean Piaget), the behaviourism approach (Ivan Pavlov) and the Montessori approach (Maria Montessori). The comparison was briefly composed by explaining the similarities and differences between the Vygotskian approach and other approaches. The example of the similarity between Vygotsky's theory and Jean Piaget's constructivism mentioned in this book is that both Vygotsky and Piaget believe that the process of acquiring knowledge in children can occur through their active participation in the environment (Blake & Pope, 2008; Cole & Wertsch, 1996; Huang, 2021). Instead of being passive and waiting to receive knowledge from teachers, both theories assert that young children's thinking differs from that of adults. Young children tend to gain understanding and construct their knowledge through their developmental stages and experiences acquired from their environment. A significant difference between Vygotsky's and Piaget's theories can be seen in their views on the interactions children need. According to Piaget, the interactions essential for cognitive development involve physical objects. He believes that cognitive development through peer interactions can only occur at the concrete operational stage. In contrast, Vygotsky's theory asserts that interactions with the people around the child are more important.
Further, section II reviews the points made in the first section and the steps for implementing them in the learning/teaching process. This section also substantially explains general strategies for approaching learning/teaching and specific tactics that can be used to implement ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) and its assessment. The sub-points discussed in section II include the theory of proximal zone development and tactics that can be applied to scaffolding through the context of mediators, language and group activities. Next, section III explains how the basic concepts of the Vygotskian approach relate to children's development at various stages, ranging from babies and toddlers to primary school pupils.
One of the strengths of this book is its deep discussion of Vygotsky's theory and how to apply it in the context of early childhood education. Teachers can use and modify the practical strategies mentioned in this book based on their needs. Those strategies are (a) implementing scaffolding by using mediators; (b) implementing scaffolding by using language; and (c) implementing scaffolding by using shared activities/collaborative learning. Early childhood teachers can adopt these practical strategies because the examples and activities in this book are the result of more than 25 years of collaboration between early childhood teachers across the United States, as well as in Chile and Canada. Steps for educational development based on children's psychology are compiled through the results of various programmes from public school preschools, state-supported universal Pre-K programmes, private schools and daycares, to the federal Early Reading and Beginning Reading programmes. Practical implementation of psychological development based on the ZPD obtained through classroom research ranges from traditional groups to multi-age groups (combining 3- and 4-year groups, but also kindergarten, first grade and second grade) and is geographically, ethnically and linguistically diverse. With a deep understanding of children's developmental stages, educators can more effectively support and facilitate their learning process. From early interactions with the world around them to building complex social and academic skills, a solid understanding of child development is an irreplaceable foundation for creating meaningful educational experiences that suit each child's individual needs.
Another advantage of this book is that it provides information about strategies for implementing scaffolding for ZPD development in early childhood. The theory explained in this book is supported by a variety empirical studies. This empirical research was conducted by Michailenko and Korotkova (2002), Smirnova (1998), and Smirnova and Gudareva (2004) in Russia who advocate the use of games to compensate for missing developmental accomplishments in primary-aged children. The three studies focus on different aspects of preschool child development in Russia. These empirical studies are provided in this book to aid in giving an overview of relevant tactics/strategies to the early childhood educational context. According to research by Ollonen and Kangas (2024), the application of scaffolding theory helps increase student learning motivation. The scaffolding theory in Boldova and Leong's book helps practice in the classroom. The book assists educators in early childhood education in choosing strategies that suit the current needs of young children. The chapters in section III explain the procedures of the Vygotskian approach for infants, toddlers, preschool, kindergarten, and primary grades. In section III, each educator of young learners can adopt the leading activity for scaffolding based on learners’ age (infants, toddlers until primary grades). Apart from that, certain chapters explain several roles of educators and the role of children in maximizing the process of implementing scaffolding. The scaffolding process is gradually discussed to assist teachers in applying it through various tactics (see section II, chapters 8–10), and the implementation of scaffolding can be carried out in three ways: through mediation, language support and collaborative activities. Early childhood educators perceive that the scaffolding process requires thoughtful preparation, starting from identifying the need to apply scaffolding, planning, implementing scaffolding, assessing, and reducing implementation, to steps to help children change the scaffolding process into a strong mental/psychological. The book covers early childhood levels including infants, toddlers, preschool, and kindergarten.
Section II explained more specifically that the implementation of scaffolding is a dynamic technique and interactive process with several weaknesses (see chapter 7). In some cases, not all implementations of scaffolding carried out by teachers will be successful. Firstly, the reasons behind the failure of scaffolding implementation are that, for instance, the scaffolding plan is “out of sync” with the learner's behaviours. Sometimes, teachers provide scaffolding too quickly for children who seem to be struggling with their learning. They may require extra time to finish their task independently. As a result, scaffolding may not be effective and interrupt the child's thought development. For example, the development of independence and understanding in mathematics can be hindered if the teacher gives direct explanations of solutions to the child rather than allowing the child to try and learn from mistakes. Chapter 10 (section II) explains that when learning mathematics, the teacher should allow children to solve certain problems with manipulatives or write down their understanding before giving further instructions. In this case, the teacher needs to give the students more time to think, rather than giving them help. The failure of the scaffolding process is also a result of teachers’ decision to take away scaffolding too early. Oftentimes, teachers remove the scaffolding before children achieve their confidence. This decision impacts the successful application of scaffolding in the classroom. Third, the scaffolding process may be ineffective for learners as teachers design learning objectives over learners’ abilities. The description of issues on scaffolding is completely provided in chapter 7 (section II). The discussion of the failure of scaffolding in this book emerges as one of its key strengths as it provides information for early childhood teachers to anticipate and overcome the shortcomings of scaffolding. By being aware of the scaffolding issues through this book, it is hoped that the scaffolding can run smoothly and affect children's development.
It is important to address some of the limitations of this book which include the use of several terms that are quite difficult to understand. To mention a few: mental tools and developmental accomplishments, as well as terminology related to children's psychological development. This requires reading the book repeatedly to be able to understand more deeply its concepts. The scaffolding strategies were overemphasized, which could supress other strategies for developing early childhood education. Despite these limitations, this book provides a comprehensive and structured approach to applying Vygotskian theory in early childhood education practice. By highlighting practical strategies and contemporary relevance, this book can be a valuable resource for educators to enhance children's learning experiences and enrich their educational approaches.
