INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY FROM THE HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
VYGOTSKY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Keywords:
Intellectual disability, Historical-Cultural Theory, Vygotsky, Human development, Inclusive education, DefectologyAbstract
This article aims to analyze the contributions of Vygotsky's Historical-Cultural Theory to the understanding of human development and the education of individuals with intellectual disabilities. This is a bibliographical study grounded in the Historical-Cultural Theory, using as its analytical framework the concepts of higher psychological functions, mediation, language, the zone of proximal development, primary and secondary disability, compensation, and social education. The analysis demonstrates that intellectual disability cannot be understood solely from its biological dimension, since its implications are also shaped by social relationships and by concrete conditions of access to culture, language, and systematic schooling. From this perspective, human development occurs through processes of social and pedagogical mediation, making it the school's responsibility to create conditions that foster the appropriation of historically produced knowledge and the development of students' potential. It is concluded that the Historical-Cultural Theory provides a consistent theoretical foundation for the construction of inclusive educational practices by shifting the focus from limitations to the learning and developmental potential of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
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