Ideas of Differentiated Instruction in Russian/Soviet Pedagogy
More than a century and a half old—this, according to our data, is the minimal age of the idea of differentiated instruction. In 1832, T. Stepanov's pamphlet On Differences in Abilities [O razlichii sposobnostei] was published in St. Petersburg, and, even though it went unnoticed by the official historiography, objectively it signalled the beginning of the development of child and pedagogical psychology in Russia. Because he was close to materialist determinism in his philosophical worldview, Stepanov, in contrast to the English scientist F. Hamilton, viewed abilities as the product of the interaction between natural and social factors. In particular, he focused attention on the vital role played by external circumstances in the origins of differences between people.