VARIABLES
Motivation theories that focus strongly on context are often described as sociocultural theories of motivation (Hickey, [n.d.]). Sociocultural views of learning and motivation are social in nature (McInerney et al, p., 3), emphasizing the interdependence of social and the individual's genetic inheritance in the construction of knowledge (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996, p. 191).
DOMAINS:
Educational Psychology, Human Development and Learning, Situate Theory, Sociohistoric Context, Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), More Knowledge Other (MKO), Cognitive Development Theories, Engaged Participation
Contributors: Anna Ching-Yu Wong
DEVELOPERS
Socio-cultural theory was first systematized and applied by Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) and his collaborators (Leontiev, A., Luria, A., Rubinstein, S., and Bakhtin, M.) in Russia in the 1920s and 1930s (McInerney, 2011, p. 3). They addressed how history and society influenced the way that humans develop and learn. Their work was not accessible and did not gain recognition until the 1950s and early 1960s. The influence of this theory began after Vygotsky's earlier works were translated into English in 1978 (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996, p. 192).
BACKGROUND
Sociocultural contexts in motivation and education reflect the influence of Vygotsky. Yet, the interpretations and expansions in the recent years have led to diverse perspectives on socio-cultural theory (Ibid):
(1) Sociohistoric context: Sivan (1986) proposed that individual goals and values that motivate learning originate in sociohistoric context.
(2) Situational interest: Weiner (1990), Hidi & Anderson (1992), Naehr & Ointrich (1995), and Bandura (2000) increased concern with classroom and cultural contexts, focusing on the ways that classroom context, ethnicity, and culture influenced goals, efficacy, and interests. The implication of this trend for teachers was that their students' motivation was much more influenced by classroom and sociocultural context.
(3) Adaptive learning and co-regulated learning: McCaslin & Murdock (1991) and McCaslin & Good (1996) studied social and instructional environments found in the home and classroom, addressing that motivation begins with the classroom and home rather than the individual.
(4) Social context: Other socio-cultural studies such as Yowell & Smylie (1999), Turner & Meyer (2000), Järvelä & Salovaara (2004), and Nolen (2007) focused on the relationships that students had with other participants (students) in the classroom and cultural context. Their studies identified the source of motivation as the relationships that students developed. This included relationships with school activities and other participants in school learning.
Therefore, motivating classroom learners meant helping them coordinate the goals implied by a range of different relationships, and recognizing that some of the goals will conflict with other goals. Teachers need to help students learn to negotiate worthwhile goals for themselves and their classmates (Hickey, [n.d.]).
(5) Situative theories of cognitive: These theories assume that knowledge originates in social interaction and cultural activity and are distributed across tools, technologies, and social rituals that human cultures construct to let them work together. Knowledge and meaning are primarily rooted in the actual collective experiences people have in the world. Gee (2004) addressed that students' learning is strongly attached to their participation in the construction of situated knowledge in socially meaningful activity.
(6) Engaged participation: Hickey (2003) applied the sociocultural assumption that knowledge resides in contexts of its use to the study of achievement motivation. He used this participatory view of knowing and learning to define a stridently sociocultural approach to "motivation-in-context." (p. 401)
(7) The constructivist theory suggests one should attend to the learning and mental representations of the individual while sociocultural theory is more concerned with the ways in which learning is an act of enculturation (Piaget, 1955).
(8) More Knowledgeable Other (MKO:): MKO refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher quality ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept. The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, coach, or older adult, but the MKO can be peers, a younger person, or even computers (Wertsch & Sohmer, 1995).
(9) Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): Vygotsky's definition states that the ZPD is the difference between what a person can achieve when acting alone and what the same person can accomplish when acting with support from someone else and/or cultural artifacts (Vygosky, 1978, p. 86; Lantolf, 2000, p. 17). Sociocultural theorists expanded the concept of ZPD and conceptualized learning as distributed (Cole & Engestrom, 1993), interactive (Chang-Wells & Wells, 1993), contextual (John-Steiner, Panofsky & Smith, 1994), and the result of the learners' participation in a community of practice (Rogoff, 1994). Lantolf concluded that teaching in the ZPD means developing sensitivity to students' current abilities and their potential development (Lantolf, 2000, p. 25).
THE IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY:
According to Tharp & Gallimore (1988), the view of sociocultural theory "has profound implications for teaching, schooling, and education. A key feature of this emergent view of human development is that higher order functions develop out of social interaction" (pp. 6-7). It is no surprise that most sociocultural theory researchers have drawn heavily from learners and education. Here are some of the educational implications of the sociocultural perspective:
(1) Sociocultural theory and L2 learning motivation: For instance, Kim (2005) focused on Korean adult ESL students' learning motivation from a Vygotskian sociocultural theory perspective. Additionally, the Center for Language Acquisition at the Pennsylvania State University provides a complete list of sociocultural theory and a L2 learning bibliography, which can be accessed via http://language.la.psu.edu/Sociocultural_Theory_Biblio.pdf
(2) Sociocultural aspects and web-based inquiry learning environment: Furberg, A. (2009) demonstrated the value of the sociocultural theory for gaining a better understanding of students' engagement with web-based learning environments.
(3) Sociocultural perspective and e-learning: Remtulla (2008) focused on social theory and its relationship with a socio-culturally engaged look at e-learning for workplace and pedagogy.
(4) Instructional practice: Lee (2007) argued that sociocultural theory advances instructional practice and helps teachers understand the situational specificity of literacy practice.
(5) Distance Learning: According to Scott ([n.d.]), "the sociocultural theory has been taken into consideration in the design of online distance education technologies. Research on the social context of learning has provided ample evidence that traditional teacher-centered approaches would be inappropriate in an online setting. Brigham Young University (BYU), a large provider of accredited online distance education in the United States, has adopted a model of online distance learning that is designed with “sociocultural theory in mind."
(6) Improving individual motivation: Hickey (2011) focused on sociocultural contexts on the regulation of learning. In this article, he summarized a decade of efforts to consider the implications of contextual theories of cognition for fostering motivation and introduced the emerging participatory vies of learning (McInerney, 2011, p. 138).
(7)Teacher education: Wells, G. (2011) applied the sociocultural perspective to motive and motivation in learning to teach. He addressed that the applications of the sociocultural theory enable prospective teachers "to appropriate and sustain the motivation to bring about a change in the motive of public education" (McInerney, 2011, p. 105)
(8) Learning as identity construction: Vadeboncoeur, Vellos & Goessling (2011) advanced "identity construction as one process that, together with the construction of knowledge and values, defines a sociocultural perspective on learning" (McInerney, 2011, p. 224).
RELATIONSHIP IN OTHER THEORIES:
The work of sociocultural theory is to explain how individual's learning is related to cultural, institutional, and historical context (Scott, [n.d.]); hence the focus of the sociocultural theories of motivation is related to human development and learning. Recently, researchers have widely applied the theories to learning, particularly in education with differential interpretation. From this perspective, the sociocultural theories of motivation, in many ways are related to other learner's motivation theories such as:
OTHER FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS:
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