Abstract
In this article, we introduce the notion of de-scaffolding that covers the process of releasing the autonomously developing person from the social support that is the necessary stating step for mastery. We use the specific action system—that of acquisition of down-hill skiing—as the empirical example for the de-scaffolding processes. Social guidance of the developing person towards autonomous actions is crucial for all human development. Following the canons of idiographic science, we focus on a 4-year longitudinal study of a family system (two children aged 2.5 and 1.5 in the beginning of the project, parents, grandparents) who systematically prepared their children for downhill skiing experiences in Austrian mountains. The de-scaffolding process entails concrete action plans and their strategic withdrawal, as well as the thinking processes of the parents in granting the children safety while preparing them for autonomy.
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Notes
Of course, mastery of many everyday tasks in human ontogeny—going up (and down) staircases, climbing various heights from a sofa to Mt. Everest, cutting objects with sharp tools, etc.—is ordinary aspect of children’s growing up. Scaffolding is usual in all of these—the concerned social Others (parents, teachers, social institutions) set up various support systems for mastery of these tasks. Yet none of these ordinary task contexts has the demand for coordinating the whole body of the actor at increasing speeds. Even the most advanced of the acceleration/deceleration demands in fields like riding a bike, a car, or piloting an airplane do not require the coordination of the whole body.
The family was known from another project. The mother was interviewed a few months after the birth of her first daughter about the transition of becoming a parent. As she mentioned skiing in this interview, they were contacted at the beginning of the project to as for more information and their consent to participate.
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No funds, grants, or other support was received by the first author (Geberth). The second author (Valsiner) wishes to acknowledge Torgny Segerstedts forelesningsfond slått sammen med Fondet til samarbeid mellom Nordens universiteter year 2022 project number 102499072. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
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The main text was written by Lisa-Marie Geberth and Jaan Valsiner alike. All figures were prepared by Lisa-Marie Geberth. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Geberth, LM., Valsiner, J. Moving Down the Slope: from Scaffolding to Autonomous Mastery. Hu Arenas (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-022-00324-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-022-00324-4