Constructivisme

Constructivisme is a broad theoretical and artistic current that holds that knowledge, meaning and social reality are actively constructed by individuals and groups rather than passively absorbed from the environment. The term is used in philosophy, psychology, education, art, and social sciences, and emphasizes active interpretation, experimentation, and the use of prior knowledge and tools to create understanding.

In education and psychology, constructivism describes how learners build new knowledge by connecting it to prior ideas. Cognitive or Piagetian constructivism focuses on mental schemes and processes of assimilation and accommodation that maintain equilibrium. Social constructivism, following Vygotsky, stresses language, collaboration and cultural tools in learning and development.

Radical constructivism, associated with Ernst von Glasersfeld, argues that knowledge is a subjective construction with no directly given objective truth. Educational practice often favors learner-centered inquiry, problem solving and scaffolding within the learner's zone of proximal development.

In the arts, constructivism refers to an early 20th‑century Russian movement, sometimes called constructivisme in French, which treated art as a social activity and emphasized geometric abstraction, industrial materials and functional design.

In international relations, constructivism emphasizes the social construction of norms, identities and interests, arguing that state behavior is influenced by shared ideas and discourse as much as by material power. The common thread across domains is the view that meaning, knowledge and social order emerge through human action and interpretation.