Vitaly Vladimirovich Rubtsov´s Life and Work: The Theoretician of Joint Activity

The article, written by Brazilian researchers, aims to outline the main ideas of Vitaly Vladimirovich Rubtsov, one of the most prominent modern Russian educational researchers. The authors present Rubtsov’s main theoretical and methodological contributions, particularly those in the field of education, and reflect on the origins and evolution of his – still ongoing — research work. The article consists of two parts. In the first one, the authors describe Rubtsov’s research path, highlighting his academic and political acting in different scientific areas which reaches way beyond the boundaries of his native country. In the second part, the text describes Rubtsov’s ideas concerning the following three independent dimensions: principles, practices and possibilities of cultural-historical theory in organizing learning activity in educational settings. The text discusses Rubtsov’s work, emphasizing the concept of interaction; then it analyses the relationship between these ideas and research practices developed by the scientist, aiming to show how the concept of interaction becomes real in joint activity. In the final part, the authors describe Rubtsov’s propositions concerning the model of school education based on the principles and practices which he developed in his works.