In this section I will be discussing the theories of psychologists Jean Piaget and Len Vygotsky.

Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland on August 9, 1896. His father was a professor of medieval studies and his mother was a strict Calvinist (Protestant – following the teachings of John Calvin). He was somewhat of a child genius publishing his first paper at 10 years old – an account of his sightings of an albino sparrow. In 1918 Piaget received his Doctorate in Science from the University of Neuchatel. Piaget was thought of as one of the most significant psychologists of the 20th Century. By the end of his career he had written over 60 books and many hundreds of articles. Students studying primary education teaching are taught Piaget’s theories to enable them to understand the developmental needs of children in school today.

Piaget’s theory was based on the biological basis of intellectual development in children (i.e. cogniti

Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers. Brigid Daniel, Sally Wassell, Robbie Gilligan. Jessica Kingsley Publishers – Page 209.

Piaget theorised that the early stage, sensor-motor was a combination of sensory impressions and motor reactions such as sucking and grasping. Children also have no mental representations of events e.g. they cannot differentiate between grasping and sucking a rattle or a parent’s finger. As the child develops he/she begins to understand the concept of object permanence i.e. just because something disappears does not mean it no longer exists. At 18 months or so full object permanence is achieved. Through imaginative and symbolic play the child is beginning to demonstrate its earliest internal mental representations of the outside world. For example, he/she can pick up a banana and pretend that they are talking on the telephone to someone. This stage ends with the onset of language.

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