PIAGET

Jean Piaget was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1896. He was an amazing observer of children. Beginning his studies by closely watching the development of his own three children, he became fascinated by the different stages in a child’s development. He dedicated over fifty years of his life to the study of children, creating his own theory defining the intellectual development of the child, stage by stage as follows.

Piaget was actively involved in studies of children taking Intelligence tests and he discovered that they repeatedly chose the incorrect answers. This intrigued him, motivating him to begin studies of cognitive development in children. Piaget felt that psychology would provide the missing link between the philosophical problem of epistemology and biological intelligence. Piaget taught a variety of subjects from philosophy to psychology and sociology, in the Universities of Geneva, Neuchatel, Lausanne and Sorbonne.


1: THE SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
This first stage of development involves infants discovering the relationships between their bodies and the world around them. This stage lasts from birth to approximately 2 years of age. They learn through sensory experience of their environment, through touch, sight, sound, smell and taste. The infant begins to understand that the environment they live in is not an extension of themselves. One of the final criteria in this stage is the realisation that even if an object is hidden behind or underneath something, it still exists. Before this, if a toy their playing with is hidden from view, they lose interest. However once a child has mastered this concept of “object permanence” they are then ready to move forward to the next stage. The best indicator is a child searching for something they cannot see, because they can understand that it does still exist.

2: THE PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
The second stage, occurring approximately between the ages of 2 and 6, this is the time when a child views the world from their own perspective. They lack the ability to change angles and look at things through another’s eyes. During conversation, children this age tend to speak in monologue form. If you observe two children talking to each other, they are each speaking a monologue, but they alternate who speaks so it sounds like a conversation although neither of them have any idea what the other is saying. This type of conversation is called a collective monologue. During this stage, children feel a complete unity with nature, as though all their fears and desires melt into the world. Everything is filled with awe and wonder, the world we live in is an amazing place when viewed through the eyes of a child. The child considers his own perspective as being complete and final. Children view names as just simply being a part of someone, they cannot fathom the concept that someone could have been given a different name. At this age, children begin to use symbols, for example, they learn the alphabet in order to progress to learning how to read and write. The use of words and language opens doorways for the child to portray things which they cannot see.

3: THE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
This third stage of development becomes apparent between the ages of 7 and 12, during this stage the child will begin to organise thoughts logically and coherently. They cannot handle abstract reasoning, their thoughts extend only in the physical realm of the world, they can comprehend actual objects and material things but not invisible thoughts and concepts. A major characteristic of this stage is the movement between looking at the world from an egocentric perspective and developing a more encompassing view of the world. This stage marks the child’s ability to understand reversibility and sequence. The child can now see the difference between an object on its own and a series of many objects.

4: THE FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
This fourth and final stage in Piaget’s theory of development, begins at approximately 11 to 12 years of age and continues to develop through adulthood, Piaget also recognises that some people may not reach this stage of cognitive development. The main characteristic during this time is the child’s ability to formulate hypotheses and systematically test their theories, coming to a conclusion or solution to their enquiry. During this stage, the child is able to think abstractly and understand the form and structure of a mathematical problem. This stage marks the development of their ability to reason contrary to fact. If they are given a statement and asked to use it as the basis of an argument they are capable of accomplishing the task.

PIAGET'S THEORY OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

SUCCESSION THROUGH THE STAGES
The succession of stages involves the movement through four stages that Piaget has set and defined. Although there are specific ages stated for each stage of development, every child is unique. We need to consider whether the child has mastered each set of criteria before they move on into the next stage of skills. The child’s competence is measured by the stage they are in, based on their skill level, not strictly by their age, as each child develops slightly differently. Through the balancing of maturity, experience and social interaction a child can move through these developmental stages, gathering the tools and knowledge to carry him through life. By teachers becoming aware of these stages, we can cater to each child, knowing that some children will develop quicker or slower than others.