The present conceptual analysis begins with an assertion that the most fundamental act in any educational endeavors is establishing their goals. The discussion proceeds to reviewing recent pertinent literature that presents Vygotsky's theory of development as a useful source in providing guidance to establishing the goals of education in rapidly changing times. Based on the theoretical framework provided by Vygotsky and various sociocultural researchers, it is argued that the most important goal of contemporary education is equipping every student with psychological tools. After detailed conceptual analyses of psychological tools, concrete examples are provided from two instructional fields. Drama-based instruction and bilingual instruction are given as concrete examples of psychological tools in literacy and English as a second language (ESL), respectively, based on the notion that psychological tools link the developing system of knowledge with that of the already developed.