Theories of Development – Piaget’s
Cognitive Theory
Cognitive Theory:
Piaget’s cognitive developmental
theory approach stresses the growth of the ability to universalize or abstract
as children grow. His theory deals only with children. It begins with the
difference of the self from the environment (infancy), use of language to sort
objects (2-7 years), the development of logical relations (7-11), and abstract
propositional thinking (11 and up) (Salkind, 2004). The improvement here is
that education can be structured for children that slowly take the mind away
from objects (the younger stage) to abstract and logical ideas about objects
(the later stage). If this is how kids learn, then this is how schools should
be structured.
1) If research shows that
“this is how kids learn,” then how can we explain the various
educational structures (i.e. homeschooling, Montessori, etc.) that also show
promising results?
2) Is there a single method of
educating people, especially those from different cultures and backgrounds?
Why/why not?
If necessary, cite references with
APA format.
