SOCIOCULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY AND CARING PEDAGOGY - EXPLORING VYGOTSKYS HIDDEN CURRICULUM

In this essay, I analyze the value presuppositions implicit in Lev Vyg otsky's sociocultural perspective on learning and development, and thu s explore what might be called Vygotsky's ''hidden curriculum''-the un stated goals and messages of his educational-developmental psychology. I do so by bringing Vygotsky's work into dialogue with that of Nel No ddings, who articulated an approach to ethics and moral education that highlights the centrality of care and caring in human life. I argue, ultimately, that the value assumptions and presuppositions embedded in Vygotsky's psychology-in both its original and its contemporary forms -are similar to those that inform Noddings' conception of care and car ing pedagogy, and thus that Vygotsky and Noddings share common moral c oncerns and commitments, particularly with respect to the characterist ics of positive learning experiences.