Education leads to development. In which direction?

Abstract

The question in the title of the article is answered on the basis of an analysis of minimal units of substantial interaction of a student and a teacher within two different educational traditions. It is shown that the education system of D.B. Elkonin and V.V. Davydov supports the searching tendencies of students decreasing their motivation to imitate provided examples, while the traditional schooling supports the imitative strategy while diminishing the child’s motivation for independent problem solving activity. That is to say, any education system both enhances and creates obstacles to the psychological development of a child.