An Introduction to the Neuropsychology of African Children Within a Co-constructivist Paradigm

Abstract

This chapter provides an introductory overview of the chapters in this book. As it does so, it notes whether the overall emphasis of a particular chapter is on methodology, scientific result, or a theoretical construct in the context of the neuropsychology of African children. Each chapter overview also characterizes the principal contributions of the chapter using Li’s (Psychol Bull 129(2):171–194, 2003) dynamic biocultural co-constructivist paradigm for understanding the orchestration of developmental plasticity in brain/behavior development. Li’s framework is useful because it is a comprehensive, multilevel, interactive, and dynamic approach to brain/behavior development in children. Within this overview chapter, Li’s co-constructivist paradigm is also used to characterize the principal levels within this brain/behavior development approach emphasized by each chapter (gene, brain, culture). These include illustrations of interactions in brain/behavior development at the culture–brain, culture–gene, and gene–brain levels. The contributions of the chapters in this book evidence how a comprehensive overview of the neuropsychology of African children in the public health context, when considered within a co-constructivist framework, can provide a new and powerful vantage point for the universal advancement of brain–behavior science in children.