The neo-Vygotskian approach to child development is introduced to English-speaking readers. Russian followers of Vygotsky have elaborated his ideas into a theory that integrates cognitive, motivational, and social aspects of child development with an emphasis on the role of children's activity as mediated by adults in their development. This theory has become the basis for an innovative analysis of periods in child development and of the mechanism of children's transitions from one period to the next. In this book, the discussion of the neo-Vygotskians' approach to child development is supported by a review of their empirical data, much of which has never before been available to English-speaking readers. The discussion is also supported by a review of recent empirical findings of Western researchers, which are highly consistent with the neo-Vygotskian analysis of child development.

I We are aware of the relativity of our distinction between metacognitive and cognitive mediation in Vygotsky's works. This relativity is due partially to the fact that cognitive and metacognitive processes are not clearly differentiated in cognitive science (Brown, 1987) and also because a sharp separation of these processes may not be justifiable. Vygotsky himself did not differentiate explicitly between metacognitive and cognitive mediation. Thus, discussing the acquisition of scientific concepts (the major type of cognitive mediation of school pupils that we analyze in this article), Vygotsky (1934/1988) also pointed out "metacognitive" outcomes of such acquisition: "Reflective consciousness comes to the child through the portals of scientific concepts" (p. 171).

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Lev Vygotsky's approach to children's learning and development centers on adult mediation: adults engage children in age-appropriate activities and promote in this context the development of new motives and tools for thinking, problem solving, and self-regulation. Although this approach has earned widespread recognition in the global scientific community, English-speaking educators remain relatively unfamiliar with its contemporary elaborations for practical application. Yuriy V. Karpov offers the first comprehensive English introduction to contemporary elaborations of Vygotsky's ideas and their practical applications from birth through adolescence. He demonstrates the advantages of the Vygotskian approach over both traditional and constructivist education. This volume will prove an invaluable resource for educators and students in teacher education programs, as well as for everyone interested in educational and developmental psychology.

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L. Vygotsky formulated the concept of 'development-generating learning' that was later elaborated by his disciples and followers. According to this concept, school instruction from the very beginning should be based on a process of supplying students with the systems of general essential knowledge in certain fields. This knowledge is acquired by students in the course of specially organized activity aimed at mastery and internalization of the processes underlying this knowledge. It was shown in a number of research projects that the Vygotskian approach to instruction ensures a high level of acquisition and transfer of knowledge, and facilitates the students' cognitive development.