Child development involves the process of mastering cultural tools, which modify relations with the world and provide the means to act on the self. A sign is a universal cultural tool, but these tools are not the same for all ages. The problem of specifying development becomes one of finding the tools that children use in their activity.…

This article traces the experiences of several outstanding teachers while explicating both the specific character of their teaching and how they were formed as teachers. These teachers' beliefs and the characteristics of their teaching style are examined in connection with the distinguishing features of the Russian schools in which they worked. In…