Introduction
Piaget’s focus on qualitative development had an important impact on education. While Piaget did not specifically apply his theory in this way, many educational programs are now built upon the belief that children should be taught at the level for which they are developmentally prepared. In addition to this, a number of instructional strategies have been derived from Piaget’s work.
These strategies include providing a supportive environment, utilising social interactions and peer teaching, and helping children see fallacies and inconsistencies in their thinking.
While there are few strict Piagetians around today, most people can appreciate Piaget’s influence and legacy. His work generated interest in child development and had an enormous impact on the future of education and developmental psychology.
EVALUATION OF PIAGET’S THEORY
Positive criticism
- Piaget produced the first comprehensive theory of child cognitive development.
- · He modified the theory to take account of criticism and envisaged it constantly changing as new evidence came to light.
- · A great deal of criticism has been levelled at the ‘ages and stages’ part of his theory but it is important to remember the theory is biologically based and demonstrates the child as a determined, dynamic thinker, anxious to achieve coherence and test theories.
- · Piaget was the first to investigate whether biological maturation drove cognitive development and his vision of a child having cognitive changes regulated by biology is now widely accepted and supported by cross-cultural research.
- · He also developed the notion of constructivism – he argued children are actively engaged with constructing their knowledge of the world rather than acting as passive receivers of information. This now widely accepted idea changed the view of childhood and significantly influenced the education profession.
Negative criticism
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- Piaget’s methods have been criticised as too formal for children. When the methods are changed to show more ‘human sense’, children often understand what is being asked of them and show cognitive ability outside of their age appropriate stage. The small sample sizes also mean caution should be used then generalising to large groups and cultures.
- · He failed to distinguish between competence (what a child is capable of doing) and performance (what a child can show when given a particular task). When tasks were altered, performance (and therefore competence) was affected.
- · The notion of biological readiness has also been questioned. If a child’s cognitive development is driven solely by innate factors, then training would not be able to propel the child onto the next stage.
- · Piaget has been criticised for under-estimating the role of language in cognitive development.
- · He has also been criticised for under-estimating the role of social development in cognitive development. The ‘three mountain experiment’ is a presentation of a social scene and yet Piaget focused on it solely as an abstract mental problem.
- · The theory is very descriptive but it does not provide a detailed explanation for the stages. Piaget’s supporters would suggest that, given his broad genetic explanations, the technology did not exist for him to research his assumptions in depth.
- The model can be seen as too rigid and inflexible. However, its supporters argue that Piaget never intended it to be seen in such a light, and it should be seen more as a metaphor and a guiding principle for teaching and learning.
