The notion of ‘mediation’ is central to the theory of sociocultural psychology as originally espoused by Vygotsky. This idea has been further developed by Wertsch, and seven specific aspects of ‘mediated action’ are used as an organizing principle here. Literacy contexts, described most graphically by Heath, are a rich source of understanding of the situations children are embedded in, and the literacy understandings they bring to school. In this paper, these two different approaches are used as a cross-classificatory schema for describing literacy and schooling contexts in primary education in South Africa over the past two decades. ‘Maintown’ in this paper is similar to that in the work of Brice Heath; ‘Ntsha Tsela’ is introduced as a uniquely (South) African context; and ‘Roadville’, the point of greatest integration and change in education, provides a site for future deeper analysis.
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