Theories of Child Development
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Theories of Child Development
Piaget and Vygotsky
If you want to understand a child’s cognitive development, you would certainly have to consider their cultural context. The concern with contextual context is no longer new and has been an integral part of developmental psychology for hundreds of years. In the past few years, a great deal of attention has been directed to the social context of children’s development of cognitive skills (Baker 1994). Much of this attention stems from Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theories, especially his notion about the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which represents the difference between what a child can do with adult guidance and what he / she is able to do independently (Levine, 1993). According to Vygotsky, children’s future independent performance is largely dependent upon the types of guidance provided by adult in the zone of proximal development. Adults create the zone and mediate the process of learning by providing guidance that reflects cultural values.
Piaget (1932) studies children’s relationships with parents and with parents and with peers more than 70 years ago. He identified enduring forms, patterns, or structures inherent in social relationships that merit our attention despite the many changes in children’s lives that have taken place since then. In relationships that have constraint as their underlying form, one person has the right to dictate terms to the other, who is obligated to obey without question. The two persons in the relationship are not on equal footing, and the subordinate member is supposed to have unilateral respect for the authority-figure member. Many child-adult relationships (e.g., child- older child) have constraint as their underlying basis.
In relationships that have cooperation as their underlying form, nither person has the right to dictate terms to the other, nor is neither person obligated to obey the other. Instead, the two persons are on equal footing, and each is...
Piaget and Vygotsky
If you want to understand a child’s cognitive development, you would certainly have to consider their cultural context. The concern with contextual context is no longer new and has been an integral part of developmental psychology for hundreds of years. In the past few years, a great deal of attention has been directed to the social context of children’s development of cognitive skills (Baker 1994). Much of this attention stems from Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theories, especially his notion about the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which represents the difference between what a child can do with adult guidance and what he / she is able to do independently (Levine, 1993). According to Vygotsky, children’s future independent performance is largely dependent upon the types of guidance provided by adult in the zone of proximal development. Adults create the zone and mediate the process of learning by providing guidance that reflects cultural values.
Piaget (1932) studies children’s relationships with parents and with parents and with peers more than 70 years ago. He identified enduring forms, patterns, or structures inherent in social relationships that merit our attention despite the many changes in children’s lives that have taken place since then. In relationships that have constraint as their underlying form, one person has the right to dictate terms to the other, who is obligated to obey without question. The two persons in the relationship are not on equal footing, and the subordinate member is supposed to have unilateral respect for the authority-figure member. Many child-adult relationships (e.g., child- older child) have constraint as their underlying basis.
In relationships that have cooperation as their underlying form, nither person has the right to dictate terms to the other, nor is neither person obligated to obey the other. Instead, the two persons are on equal footing, and each is...