Lev Vygotsky's approach to children's learning and development centers on adult mediation: adults engage children in age-appropriate activities and promote in this context the development of new motives and tools for thinking, problem solving, and self-regulation. Although this approach has earned widespread recognition in the global scientific community, English-speaking educators remain relatively unfamiliar with its contemporary elaborations for practical application. Yuriy V. Karpov offers the first comprehensive English introduction to contemporary elaborations of Vygotsky's ideas and their practical applications from birth through adolescence. He demonstrates the advantages of the Vygotskian approach over both traditional and constructivist education. This volume will prove an invaluable resource for educators and students in teacher education programs, as well as for everyone interested in educational and developmental psychology.