Psychodiagnosis and school inclusion: Vygotsky’s critiques and contributions

Abstract

This article offers a critical reflection about the impact of psychodiagnosis within the contemporary inclusive school context, a setting marked by a significant rise in formal diagnoses of disabilities and disorders. This trend has permeated school practices, prompting education professionals to reconsider their approaches to inclusion and intervention. Proceeding from the premise that diagnosis functions as a social mechanism capable of fueling medicalizing and ableism practices, the authors question its effects on teaching relations. Drawing on current studies addressing this issue, the text critiques the reduction of complex phenomena to individual, organic causes. The analysis is structured in three parts: the first discusses hegemonic conceptions of psychodiagnosis construction within the field of psychological assessment; the second presents Vygotsky’s critiques and contributions regarding this issue, exploring his ideas on psychodynamic diagnosis in clinical settings and their implications for the school environment-with an emphasis on his studies in pedology and defectology; and the third investigates problems arising from the misinterpretation and misuse of psychodiagnosis in educational settings, highlighting the negative impacts on the development of children and young people. Through a well-grounded argument, the article seeks to foster an alternative discussion regarding the role of psychodiagnosis in schools, encouraging the adoption of practices that are more humanized and historically contextualized.