Originally published in 1993, the study of cognitive development in children had moved from a focus on the intellectual processes of the individual studied in relative isolation, as in the classic work of Piaget, to a concern in the 1970s and 1980s with social cognition characterized by Vygotsky's views. In the years following, the trend toward an understanding of the situated nature of cognition had evolved even further and the extent to which thinking and knowing are inextricably linked to contextual constraints was at last being defined. Experts of international repute, the authors of this important book examine the recent literature on situated cognition in children. They explain contextual sensitivity in relation to ecological theories of cognition, and contrast intuitive reasoning in mathematical and other scientific domains with the failure of such reasoning in formal school contexts. Centrally concerned with the question of generalizability and transfer of knowledge from one situation to another, the contributors point to practical implications for understanding how intellectual competence can be made to generalize between "e;informal"e; and "e;formal"e; situations.

1. Context and Cognition in Models of Cognitive Growth George Butterworth 2. Social Class, Context and Cognitive Development Antonio Roazzi and Peter Bryant 3. Culture, Context and the Construction of Knowledge in the Classroom Neil Mercer 4. Proportional Reasoning In and Out of School Analúcia Dias Schliemann and David William Carraher 5. Word Problems: A Microcosm of Theories of Learning Jean Lave 6. Sociocultural Processes of Creative Planning in Children's Playcrafting Jacquelyn Baker-Sennet, Eugene Matusov and Barbara Rogoff 7. Desituating Cognition through the Construction of Conceptual Knowledge Giyoo Hatano and Kayoko Inagaki 8. The Pragmatic Bases of Children's Reasoning Vittorio Girotto and Paul Light 9. Contexts and Cognitions: Taking a Pluralist View Jacqueline J. Goodnow and Pamela Warton. Index.