Sociocultural approach to textbook

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of textbook research at the Institute of psychology, intended to postulate socio-cultural approach to textbook. Shifting the textbook from classical pedagogical-psychological context into the broader and more inspiring cultural context, has led to the conceptualization of textbook as a cultural-supportive system of individual development. We consider firstly, the theoretical background of this conception, founded in Vygotskian idea of cultural mediation of development and then, its operationalization through the concept of cultural-supportive tools. The transfer from theory to practice is presented through the most important practical implications, such as defining the genre specificities of textbook and principles of educational design of textbooks. As a distinctive issue, we also consider the way this approach to textbook (theoretical articulation, analytical concepts, and practical implications) contributes to development of socio-cultural paradigm in psychology.