The third issue of the journal "Cultural-Historical Psychology" for 2025 (No. 3–2025) has been published. The issue's theme is "Cultural-Historical Psychology in BRICS Countries" (Brazil, South Africa, India) and friendly countries of the post-Soviet space (Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan).
The publications in this issue reveal the features of the dissemination, interpretation, and practical application of the ideas of cultural-historical psychology within the distinct cultural, political, and socio-economic contexts of this group of countries.
The issue opens with three articles by Russian authors, which sequentially describe the system-forming categories of cultural-historical psychology (V.V. Rubtsov, A.D. Maydansky), demonstrate the possibilities of constructing educational practices based on them (A.V. Konokotin, V.K. Zaretsky, I.M. Ulanoyskaya, O.V. Rubtsova), and substantiate the potential and prospects of cultural-historical psychology as a practice-oriented science (E.I. Isaev, S.G. Kosaretsky).
The main body of the issue's articles presents a wide range of precedents for the use of cultural-historical psychology in educational practices, psychological assistance, and social activities.
Publications by scholars from Brazil, South Africa, and India demonstrate the value-laden transformative and critical agenda of cultural-historical psychology – influential globally and yet insufficiently familiar to the Russian reader.
In the article by Liberali F. C., Lemos M., Modesto-Sarra L. K. (Brazil), the Brincadas-COLINA project, which united children, educators, and families from quilombola communities, indigenous peoples, and urban peripheries in a joint practice, serves as a vivid example of an educational initiative that uses CHP ideas as a tool for achieving social and epistemic justice, which is particularly relevant for BRICS+ countries facing growing educational inequality.
A. Mutivi (South Africa) finds in Vygotsky's ideas a foundation for a decolonial approach in epistemology and pedagogy, which has become the basis for the legitimacy of indigenous knowledge and culturally conditioned social practices, opening up opportunities for students and teachers to exercise agency aimed at social transformation, self-realization, and identity development.
Tanzi Neto A., Dieges U. C. C., Magalhaes. M. C. C. (Brazil) demonstrate how a teacher training program for foreign language teachers in Brazil, based on social activity and cultural-historical principles, contributes to the formation of culturally sensitive and socially transformative pedagogical practice.
Sandeep Kumar (India) in his article examines the risks of childhood transformation in the context of globalization and digitalization through the lens of a social-constructivist approach. Other authors from India (Chander S., Arora C.), drawing on the idea of the zone of proximal development, conceptualize digital tools as potential mediators between the student's abilities and the curriculum requirements.
The place of BRICS in the global landscape of cultural-historical psychology and the specificity of research in relation to global trends are revealed in the first-ever bibliometric analysis in CHP (A.A. Shvedovskaya, V.V. Ponomareva, A.A. Korneev). The 40-year journey and the current network of dissemination of L.S. Vygotsky's legacy in Brazil are covered in the article by Zoia Prestes, Elizabeth Tunes, Mateus Thaler Beck.
Articles by J. Hardman, Sinitsa T.I., and Bagdasarova N.A. convincingly show the diversity of ways to use the ideas of cultural-historical theory to organize inclusive education. A.M. Polyakov proposes an original approach to their application in providing psychological assistance to children and adolescents.
The full issue of the journal is available in open access on the portal of psychological publications PsyJournals.ru.
Listen to the PsyJournals LIVE podcast – in new episodes, authors discuss their research:
- Anna Aleksandrovna Shvedovskaya – on the landscape of cultural-historical psychology in BRICS+ countries
- Vagan Zhorayevich Sarkisyan – on the study of the cultural-historical vector of educational practices and socialization of children in modern society
- Subhash Chander and Chetna Arora – on the study of digital learning in classrooms with varying levels of preparedness
- Azvihangwisi Edward Mutivi – on the decolonization of pedagogy in post-apartheid South Africa
- Fernanda Coelho Liberali and co-authors – on rebellious pedagogy and the "Play Brigade" project (Brincadas)
- Zoia Prestes – on the dissemination of L.S. Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory in Brazil