Triadic zones of proximal development in the perpetuation of advantage: Schooling the social classes

• In Event: Perceiving Affordances in Activity Systems

Abstract

Our interest in this paper is to extend the work of Vygotsky (1978, 1997) and Bourdieu (1986) to look more closely at how social class difference is structured through schooling. We examine relationships between students, parents, and teachers as constituted in social practices. First, we begin with the role of parents in negotiating zones of proximal development (ZPD) between their children and teachers. We introduce the notion of a triadic ZPD (TZPD) to emphasize the insertion of a parent’s proleptic view on the relational ZPD between a student and a teacher as one way social class advantage is perpetuated. Second, we highlight the cultural and social capital that parents exploit in parent/teacher relationships. Finally, we note tentative conclusions and implications.

Authors

• Carolyn P. Panofsky, Rhode Island College

• Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, The University of British Columbia