The Psychology Book

268

regards to mathematics and
science, is the acknowledgement
that teachers need to be aware of
and honor an individual child’s
capacity to deal with a novel
experience or to take on fresh
information. The tasks that a
teacher sets should reflect, and also
be adapted as precisely as possible
to, the individual student’s
cognitive level and capabilities.

Piaget believed that children learn

from being active rather than from

passive observation, and teachers

must adapt to this. Interaction

between students is of primary

significance in the classroom, and

having established that one of the

best ways to secure knowledge is

to teach it to somebody else, it

follows that if children are allowed

to discuss topics actively among

themselves (rather than listening

passively to lessons), they are more

likely to deepen and consolidate

their existing knowledge.

Moral education

As with intellectual development,

Piaget believed that children also

develop morally in stages and, for

the most part, autonomously. Real

moral growth is not the product

of adult instruction, but is based

on a child’s own observations of

the world. Piaget viewed peer

interaction as absolutely crucial for

the moral development of children.

Peers, not parents or other authority

figures, are seen as being vital to

moral growth, providing a key

source for understanding concepts

such as reciprocity, equality, and

justice. Consequently, Piaget keenly

JEAN PIAGET

Children at this Montessori school
bring Piaget’s ideas to life. They are
encouraged to build their own learning
with hands-on activities and plenty of
discussion with their peers.

promoted peer interaction within

the classroom as an integral part

of the learning experience.

The role of the teacher in

Piaget’s child-centered classroom

is, therefore, almost one of a mentor

and an enabler rather than that of

a standard instructor. Teachers

need to assess carefully each

student’s current level of cognitive

development and then set tasks

that are intrinsically motivating.

Interestingly, teachers must also

create cognitive disequilibrium

in their students in order to help

them advance to the next stage of

Jean Piaget Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland,

Jean Piaget grew up with an

insatiable interest in the natural

world, and at the age of 11 he

wrote his first scientific paper.

He studied natural sciences and

earned a PhD from the University

of Neuchâtel at the age of 22. His

interest moved to psychoanalysis

and he developed his theories of

genetic epistemology in France.

In 1921, he became the director

of the Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Institute in Geneva. He married

Valentine Châtenay and they had

three children, who were the

subjects of many of Piaget’s

observations about cognitive

development. In 1955, he

created the International Centre

for Genetic Epistemology and

was its director until his death

in 1980. He was awarded prizes

and honorary degrees worldwide.

Key works

1932 The Moral Judgment of

the Child

1951 The Psychology of

Intelligence

1952 The Origins of Intelligence

in Children

1962 The Psychology of the Child

Children have real

understanding only

of that which they

invent themselves.

Jean Piaget