Historical paths of learning: The explanatory contributions of Vygotskij and Bandura to models of professional development for teachers
Stefania Maddalena, Valerio Ferro Allodola
The importance of teacher professional development to enhance student learning is a richly addressed issue in the literature. Less understood, perhaps, is the specific mechanism underlying teacher learning and how it translates into teaching practices. The paper intends to reflect on the interconnection between professional development models and Vygotskij and Bandura’s theories of human development. These theories provide an explanation of the processes underlying teacher development, allowing us to understand which factors could contribute to an effective implementation of some professional development. We analyze Bandura’s social cognitive theory and Vygotskij ’s sociocultural theory precisely because they seek to explain and predict human development and change, providing the basis for understanding why professional development leads to the development of teachers capable of improving learning and teaching processes in the classroom.
Keywords
Professional development, human development, school, teachers.