Theories of development as linking setting, interactions, and child

In this paper the author proposes a theory of development that integrates society, institutional practice and the child's activity. The goal is to inform efforts to create more developmentally supportive settings and opportunities for children. The proposed theory focuses on the everyday practices of children that take place in specific institutional settings (e.g., schools, afterschools, families) reflecting dominant cultural-societal views and arrangements. The paper provides a theoretical lens that could be of interest to educators who are seeking to understand how the particular affordances of the ISE setting can support children's development of interests and motives, especially with respect to science learning. The theory and the paper themselves are not specific to science.