You are here

Cognitive Development Today
Share
Share

Cognitive Development Today
Piaget and his Critics



216 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
`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.

 
Introduction
Summary

 
 
Questions for Dscussions
 
The Piagetian Legacy
Background

 
 
The Stages of Development
 
The Theory of Learning
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
The Role of Language
The Relationship between Language and Thought

 
 
The Acquisition of the Home Language
 
Reading
 
Other Aspects of Language
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Vygotsky and the Vygotskians
Vygotsky Himself

 
 
Present-Day Vygotskians
 
Summary
 
Question for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
The Behaviorist Reaction
Summary

 
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
An Interventionist
Bruner: Summary

 
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Criticisms of Specific Aspects of Piaget's Work
Bryant, Donaldson and Others: Of the Sensorimotor Period by Bower and Butterworth

 
 
Of Concrete Operations by Bryant’s School
 
Of Concrete Operation by Donaldson and her School
 
Of the Theory of Knowledge by Bryant and his School
 
The Lack of Individual Differences
 
The Social Critique of Schaffer and Hamlyn
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
The Constructivist Movement
Summary

 
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Other Important Contemporary Schools
Alternatives to Piaget: The Information-Processing (IP) School

 
 
The Domain-Specific Viewpoint
 
The Structuralists
 
The Metacognitive Influence
 
The Nativists
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Loyal to the Founding Father
Fundamentalist, Post- and Neo-Piagetians

 
 
The Fundamentalist Piagetians
 
The Neo-Piagetians
 
The Post-Piagetians
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Where Are We Now in Cognitive Development? Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
General Implications of Theories of Cognitive Development for Teachers
Summary

 
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Feuerstein
Summary

 
Questions for Discussion

 
 
Further Reading
 
The Effect on Education of these Viewpoints
The National Curriculum

 
 
National Attainment Tests
 
Mixed-Stage/Mixed-Ability Teaching
 
The Secondary Teacher
 
The Junior Teacher
 
The Nursery and Infant Teacher
 
The Special-Needs Teacher
 
The Primary Science Teacher
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Teaching Mathematics
Pre-School Studies

 
 
American Studies of Primary Children
 
British Studies of Primary-School Children
 
Sutherland’s Studies of Primary Children with Difficulties in Maths
 
The Role of the Learning-Support Teacher
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
The Secondary Teacher
English

 
 
Science
 
Geography
 
History
 
Religious Studies
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading
 
Moral Development
Piaget’s Original Ideas

 
 
Kohlberg’s Development of Piaget's Ideas
 
Values Education
 
Conclusions
 
Summary
 
Questions for Discussion
 
Further Reading

`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

Peter A A Sutherland

SAGE Knowledge is the ultimate social sciences digital library for students, researchers, and faculty. Hosting more than 4,400 titles, it includes an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more.

The platform allows researchers to cross-search and seamlessly access a wide breadth of must-have SAGE book and reference content from one source.