Course Moving beyond diagnoses for an inclusive education: Understanding human development in the field of psychology and L.S. Vygotsky’s theoretical propositions

Course description

This two-day course offers an in-depth theoretical exploration of diagnosis, human development, and inclusive, democratic education through Vygotsky’s contributions to the field of defectology and cultural-historical psychology. By critically analyzing the role of diagnosis in educational contexts, the course aims to challenge reductionist views and promote more dynamic, culturally and socially grounded approaches to supporting diverse learners.

The course adopts a participatory and dialogic approach designed to foster critical reflection and collaborative learning. It combines theoretical input with interactive activities to ensure a dynamic and engaging experience.

Participants will take part in lectures that provide historical and conceptual foundations of Vygotsky’s work on defectology and cultural-historical psychology. These lectures will introduce core concepts and discuss their implications for understanding human development and contemporary thinking about inclusive, democratic education.

Group discussions will create opportunities to collectively analyze key ideas, question reductionist approaches to diagnosis and human development, and share diverse perspectives rooted in participants’ research and empirical experiences. Through structured small-group and plenary sessions, participants will examine real-world examples and explore culturally and socially grounded alternatives for supporting diverse learners.

Reflective activities will be used throughout the course to deepen understanding and encourage participants to relate theoretical concepts to their own research projects or educational contexts. Individual and group reflections will help consolidate learning and identify relevant areas or angles for applying cultural-historical theoretical principles to topics associated with inclusive education.

The course methodology is designed to support both early-stage and more experienced PhD students, encouraging dialogue across levels of experience and research contexts while promoting theoretical deepening and critical engagement with diagnoses in education.

Aim/Learning outcomes

• To understand the foundations of Vygotsky’s defectology and its relevance for the development of a general psychology.
• To analyze the problem of diagnosis in human development from a cultural-historical perspective.
• To explore Vygotsky’s contributions to inclusive and democratic educational practices.
• To examine contemporary research applications of cultural-historical concepts in education.
• To promote critical and collaborative reflection on how diagnostic practices can support or hinder inclusive education.

Requirements for participation

Prior knowledge of cultural-historical theory and its main propositions is not a requirement but will enable more advanced understanding of the topics of the course. The course can also be students working with other theoretical perspectives through its discussions of theoretical understandings of the general topics of the relation between psychology and education, diagnosis and inclusive education.

Target group/Participants

The course is relevant for PhD students with projects in education and human development, students working with cultural-historical psychology, and/or topics related to inclusion, diagnosis, and education from an emancipatory perspective. The course is mainly theoretical and can be relevant to all students with an interest in theoretical deepening, in their first year of studies as well as more advanced students with empirical material and in the process of analysis.

Workload

• Course/ teaching hours: 2 days (14 hours)
• Preparation hours: 14 hours

Language 

• English

Lecturers

• Daniele Nunes Henrique Silva, Associate Professor (Level 2), Institute of Psychology, Department of School and Developmental Psychology / University of Brasília – Brazil
• Louise Bøttcher, Associate professor in neuropsychology, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University

Literature

• Vygotsky, L.S. (1993). Introduction. In: The Collected works of Vygotsky, vol 2: The fundamentals of Defectology. New York: Plenum Press.
• Bøttcher. L., Dammeyer, J. (2016). Development and learning of young children with disabilities. Chapter 2: Unfolding time in the cultural-historical model of disability. New York: Springer.
• Silva, D.N.H., Ribas, L.M., de Freitas, A.P, (2025). Psychodiagnosis and school inclusion: Criticisms and contributions from Vigotski.

Venue

• 18 November 2025. 10.00-17.00. Emdrupvej 101 , 2400 København NV. Building 4210/Building A, room 104
• 19 November 2025. 09.00-16.00. Emdrupvej 101 , 2400 København NV. Building 4210/Building A, room 104

Course dates:

• 18 November 2025 10:00 - 17:00
• 19 November 2025 09:00 - 16:00