Vygotsky in the Context of the Appearance of Special Education as a Knowledge Field

Between 1922 and 1930, congresses about Therapeutic/Curative Pedagogy were held in Germany. The consolidation of Special Education as a field of knowledge resulted from these congresses. Although Vygotsky died in 1934 and we have not yet found any records that he participated in the German congresses, his studies indicate a dialogue with themes and authors present in 1939 at the First International Congress about Pedagogy for the Disabled, which followed the German congresses. This hypothesis is supported by the presence of references to the German congresses in Fundamental Problems of Contemporary Defectology (1929). Considering this panorama, this work aims to situate Vygotsky’s perspective about Defectology in relation to what was being discussed about Therapeutic/Curative Pedagogy/Special Education, between the years of 1920 and 1930. It is a bibliographic study, whose sources are the annals of the Congress, scientific articles published in the early 20th century and texts by Vygotsky on Defectology.