Transitions from traditional development approaches to social based approaches – new possibilities in child’s development assessment

This study proposes a social assessment tool to assess children’s early childhood development. The cultural-historical theoretical framework of this tool insists that if we are assessing the social, we are assessing the individual. Therefore, it makes sense to base assessments of development within the source of development. Drama is essential in the tool; as the Zone of Proximal Development is a key concept, requiring the drama of what a child cannot do alone. Empirical examples of the tools application in the field will be presented, theorizing the practice of this approach in line with Vygotsky’s Cultural-historical tradition.