Learning as Construction: Social Constructivism

Social constructivism is based on the principles expounded first by Vygotsky (1987), who pointed out that a child’s intellectual development cannot be considered in a social vacuum. Interactions with the child’s classmates, friends and parents must be taken into account if a realistic picture is to be painted. Cognitive development takes place as a result of mutual interaction between the child and those people with whom he or she has regular social contact (Pound, 2008; Sutherland, 1992; Vygotsky, 1987). Thus in the view of social constructivists - scholars who have adopted and built on Vygotsky’s insights – learning is a social process. Knowledge is neither passively received from the environment nor acquired by discovering an independent pre-existing world outside the mind of the knower (Altinyelken, 2010; Kilpatrick, 1987; von Glasersfeld, 1988; Vygotsky, 1987). In this view, "knowledge schemas (structures)" (Skemp, 1989) have to be constructed by every individual learner in his or her own mind from personal experiences and from social interaction. No one can do that directly for the learner. Furthermore, what is learned through new experiences and interactions depends on the learner’s existing knowledge schemas as it is these which determine what is perceived as relevant in a situation and therefore observed.

To reiterate, constructivism is based on the principle that knowledge and understanding are acquired through the construction of mental processes by individuals out of current exposure and based on previous experience. Thus, “information is built into and added onto an individual’s current structure of knowledge, understanding and skills. We learn best when we actively construct our own understanding” (Pritchard, 2009: 17).

Perelley (1988) asserts that this constructivist view emphasises three interrelated elements of learning:

First, learning is a process of knowledge construction. Second, people use … available knowledge to construct new knowledge. Third, learning is highly tuned to the ... situation in which it takes place (Perelley, 1988:875).

The first element suggests that effective learning depends on the intentions, interpretations, self-monitoring, elaborations and representational constructions of the individual learner. The second suggests that what is learned depends on elaboration and extension of prior knowledge. Thus the prior experiences of the learner become the foundation upon which new construction of knowledge is built. Writing on experiential learning, Kolb (1984) regards

31 education as a social process that is based on carefully cultivated experience. Kolb argues that learning from experience is a natural human development process.

Perelley’s second point suggests that individuals learn by using what they already know to construct new knowledge. Thus when teaching is based on the experiences of the learner, there is a strong possibility of achieving favourable results. Effective learning is that which is lasting and provides the pupil with knowledge and skills that can be applied to different situations and contexts (Pritchard, 2009). In other words, it provides the basis for constructing new knowledge. In this regard, Skemp (1989) contends that good teaching can greatly help and the more abstract and hierarchical the knowledge schemas that are to be built, the more this help is needed.

The last of the elements - the notion that learning is tuned to the situation - suggests that knowledge is retained in a meaningful and stable way if it is embedded within the participants’ social structure or life situation. In other words, skills and knowledge are not independent of the context in which they are acquired, used and practised. This notion is sometimes called “situated learning.” Thus it is not enough to look at the cognitive dimension of learning but to situate what is happening cognitively within a social space and time (Daniels, 1993; Lave and Wenger, 1991).

In social constructivism, learning is effective if there is co-participation of the actors (learners and teachers). This does not happen only in the heads of the individuals. The use of language and its significance and meaning in the learning process can only be made more meaningful when placed in a social context. This implies a highly interactive and productive role for the skills acquired through the learning process (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Lave and Wenger (1991) also contend that

Learning viewed as situated activity has as its central defining characteristics --- learners inevitably participate in communities of practitioners and that the mastery of knowledge and skills requires newcomers to move toward full participation in the socio cultural practices of a community (p29)

A key principle of situated learning is that if teaching takes place in a familiar cultural or social context there is more likelihood that actual learning will take place. Alexander (2000) notes that ignoring the culture in teaching and learning

encourages the view that pedagogy carries no educational messages or values in itself but is merely a value-neutral vehicle for transmitting curricular content; and it discourages vital questions about the importance of fit between the pedagogy, the

32 children being taught, the knowledge domains from which curriculum experiences are drawn. Effective teaching arises from attention to cultural, psychological, epistemological and situational considerations, not merely organisational and technical considerations (p 30).

Wertsch and Bustamante (1993) confirm this notion by noting that in Vygotsky’s opinion, “the social dimension of consciousness is primary in time and in fact” (p69). Social constructivist theory thus prioritises sociality and socialisation. This socialisation in learning is achieved though the mediation of various cultural artefacts (Daniels, 2008; Wertsch, 1985). Daniels (2008) notes that the mediation process that ensures social construction and the development of the individual is based on the primacy of the social. In this vein, the child’s “social and psychological processes are fundamentally shaped by the mediational means, especially the language they employ” (Wertsch and Bustamante, 1993:70).

Thus, if lessons are based on children’s previous experiences, the local context, and local practices, there is a greater incentive to learn. Children have a great deal to offer to the process of constructing knowledge (Giroux, 1989). On the other hand, if lessons are abstract – as is often the case with the formal school – if the language of instruction is alien to learners and the curriculum is at best generalized, and at worst incomprehensible, learning will probably not take place because it is not situated appropriately. Pritchard (2009) contends that learning is a process of interaction between what is known and what is to be discovered; it is a social process and a situated process.

Intervention research conducted from a social constructivist perspective addresses the manner in which school learning activities can be restructured to allow pupils to acquire academic knowledge (scientific concepts) by building on the foundation of personal experience (everyday concepts). Or conversely, pupils may gain insights into their own lives through the application of academic knowledge if the academic knowledge is connected to their situation. The education of the child must therefore be linked to the culture of the child. The environment in which the education takes place and the immediate relevance of said education are also critical in applying this theory.

Social constructivism thus touches all aspects of teaching and learning relevant to this study: the relevance of the curriculum, the role of the teacher, the role of language in learning, the activities of children in the learning process and the culture’s influence on children’s

33 learning. The next section discusses the critical issue of language of instruction in formal education.