Psychology and constructivism together offer new ways of understanding international relations

The great Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky has long been recognized as a pioneer in developmental psychology. But somewhat ironically, his theory of development has never been well understood in the West. Mind in Society should correct much of this misunderstanding. Carefully edited by a group of outstanding Vygotsky scholars, the book presents a unique selection of Vygotsky’s important essays, most of which have previously been unavailable in English. The Vygotsky who emerges from these pages can no longer be glibly included among the neobehaviorists. In these essays he outlines a dialectical-materialist theory of cognitive development that anticipates much recent work in American social science. The mind, Vygotsky argues, cannot be understood in isolation from the surrounding society. Man is the only animal who uses tools to alter his own inner world as well as the world around him. From the handkerchief knotted as a simple mnemonic device to the complexities of symbolic language, society provides the individual with technology that can be used to shape the private processes of mind. In Mind in Society Vygotsky applies this theoretical framework to the development of perception, attention, memory, language, and play, and he examines its implications for education. The result is a remarkably interesting book that is bound to renew Vygotsky’s relevance to modern psychological thought.

This book is about the implications of constructivism for instructional design practices, and more importantly, it is about a dialogue between instructional developers and learning theorists. Working with colleagues in each discipline, the editors were amazed to find a general lack of familiarity with each others' work. From an instructional design perspective, it seems that the practice of instructional design must be based on some conception of how people learn and what it means to learn. From a learning theory perspective, it seems obvious that the value of learning theory rests in the ability to predict the impact of alternative learning environments or instructional practices on what is learned. Thus the interchange of ideas between these disciplines is essential. As a consequence of both the information rich environment and the technological capability, business is seen moving away from a fixed curriculum and toward providing information and instruction when it is needed. These changes bring about a window of opportunity establishing a dialogue that will provide for a richer understanding of learning and the instructional environment required to achieve that learning. The editors hope that this book is the beginning of the conversation and that it will serve to spur continued conversation between those involved in learning theory and those involved in the design of instruction.

Psychotherapy has undergone major changes in recent years, with a variety of new approaches including cognitive-behavioural therapy joining the more traditional and widespread schools of thought. These new approaches all share the epistemological assumption of constructivism, which states that there are alternative ways of looking at events and that we interpret events according to how we see the world. Constructivist Psychotherapy reviews the constructivist trends in psychotherapy which link these new approaches, allowing the reader to enter an entirely new dialogue. The book traces constructivist thought, elaborating on Kelly’s personal construct theory and the implications for psychotherapeutic theory and practice. Areas of discussion include: the therapist’s understanding of the client’s narrative a constructivist understanding of the person psychological constructivism and constructivist trends in psychotherapy Setting constructivist psychotherapy within its therapeutic, social and philosophical context and using case studies throughout, the book revisits 'Kellian' ideas and theories, bringing them up to date, to explore what it is to be a constructivist psychotherapist today. As such this book will be of interest to all psychotherapists, as well as anyone with an interest in the psychotherapeutic field.

This book illustrates the ways that teachers, by seeing learning through children's eyes, create new possibilities for their students' intrinsic motivation and meaningful learning. Motivation and learning are linked in a view of knowledge that is called social constructivism, the theory that undergirds the ideas in this book. Social constructivist theorists acknowledge multiple constructions of the world. In social constructivist theory, each human being makes sense of the world in a unique way. For teachers to facilitate students' learning, therefore, it is essential that they seek to understand students' unique constructions and to see learning through their students' eyes. Social constructivism has major implications for the ways we understand learning, the ways we as teachers think about our roles, and the ways we teach. Our main purpose in this book is to propose a vision of the ways that learning experiences are transformed when teachers are learning through children's eyes. Seeing learning through children's eyes brings about important changes in classroom culture, including ways that curriculum is negotiated and enacted, changing the content of the curriculum, and changing relationships among all members of the classroom community.

The Wiley Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology is the definitive new reference for the field, providing a state-of-the-art review of PCP which focuses on the theory and its philosophy, methodology, areas of application and future horizons A definitive new reference work for the field of personal construct psychology, featuring leading international figures in the field Each section begins with a concise chapter that reviews the literature in the area concerned and highlights new developments Covers theory, history, methodology and a wealth of new and established applications including education, grief and meaning reconstruction, sexuality, organizational consultancy and personal construct coaching Draws on published and previously unpublished work by pioneers including Fay Fransella and Miller Mair