Summary
Contents
Subject index
‘At the end of the day, what is crucial is to enable educationalists to promote and apply their own metatheories and models of child development which they feel comfortable with and which enable children to develop. … Peter Sutherland should be credited with making a significant contribution towards achieving this fundamental goal’ - Educational Psychology in Practice
‘… this book deserves to become a classic in the field. Will appeal alike to academics and students in higher education, and to serving teachers- BPS: Educational Review Section
This book provides a general outline of the dominant schools of thought on cognitive development, with a focus on Piaget. His views are outlined and a range of critical responses and alternatives are detailed. The author examines the application of these schools of thought to teaching pre-school, primary and secondary children. Each chapter includes a summary and questions for discussion. The book concludes with a glossary of terms.
The Behaviourist Reaction
The Behaviourist Reaction
Piaget reacted against behaviourism so that, strictly speaking, it is inaccurate to include this prominent group as critics of Piaget. However, during the decades of Piaget's greatest prominence — during the 1960s and early 1970s — it was the behaviourists who disputed this prominence most powerfully. This battle raged particularly fiercely in the USA, where the behaviourists were the dominant force both within psychology and within education at the time when Piaget's influence started to be felt there.
How do children learn? Is the pattern linear, cumulative and additive (as the behaviourists argue) or are there qualitative breakthroughs (as the Piagetians allege)? By comparison with behaviourists, Piagetians are a progressive force. In other words they are child centred, emphasizing a child's ...
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