The Contrast of Theories of Child Development - Essay Example

?Child development. Introduction Child development refers to the physical, psychological, and biological changes that occur in the different stages of the childhood. It is a process of child’s individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. There are different definitions from different scholars regarding developmental periods in children. But according to general view developmental periods can be classified like this: From zero to age of one month is newborn, infant period is between ages of one month to one year, ages between one to three years are toddler, preschooler is between four to six years, between six to thirteen ages is school aged child, and the adolescent age is between thirteen to twenty years. But, some organisations use the term infant from birth to age of three. Increased research and interest in the field of child development has resulted in new theories and strategies. But, among all these, theories proposed by Piaget and Vygotsky are most popular. Developmental stages In a new born child, process of connecting the nerve cells are rapid during the first 18 months, and sound, smell, sight, taste, and touch are the ways baby learn about the world. As babies learn to sit up, crawl, stand and then walk, the possibilities quickly expand, and are ready to experiment with toys and other materials. Generally the brain of the toddler is twice as active as adult, and during the period between 18 months to three years, structures of the brain that is sensitive to language and social emotional response develop.  The age between three to six years is the fastest growth period for the frontal lobe networks in a child, and the actions such as memory, processing, and problem solving are increasing during this period. During the preschool years, imagination and interaction play starting roles (Child Development Institute, 2010).  In the age of six to nine years, children are in the primary grades, and have gotten the hang of basic dexterity, language, and social skills. During this period they are eager to practice and refine them, and they like to challenge themselves, intellectually, with puzzles and games that test their growing knowledge. The maturation of the frontal lobe continues even in the adolescence period which falls from the age of nine to fourteen years. During this age emotional regulation becomes greater, spatial working memory improves, speed and efficiency of thought increases, planning and problem solving skills increase, and scientific reasoning and ability to understand one's own thinking develops (Child Development Institute, 2010).  Piaget theory Piaget’s view of how child’s mind work and develop has been enormously influential, especially in educational theory. As he says, children cannot take certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so. According to Piaget, the mental development of a child is purely internal, individualist, and self directed. For understanding something new, child must construct it itself, and have to re-invent it. Whenever we teach something to the child he/she keep from inventing it itself (Ginsbury, H. Opper, S, 1979). Piaget Cognitive Development Stages. Source: Child Development Institute Almost all child progress through four different stages and they are all very distinct stages regard to cognitive development. The first stage is sensor motor, second stage is preoperational, third one is concrete operational and fourth one is formal operational. This is popularly known as Piaget’s stage theory as it deals with four stages of development (ECheat.com, 2005). The first stage in the child’s cognitive development is sensor motor. It occurs from birth to the age of two. During this period the child basically deals with what is presented to it, and learn about physical objects and is concerned with motor skills and the consequences of some of their actions. So, in this stage child would learn the concept of object permanence. The preoperational stage is the second stage of cognitive development in child where it starts from two to seven years. During this period it is possible to carry on a conversation with a child, and also it learns to count and use the concept of numbers. Basically this stage consists of two phases, first one is preoperational phase and the second one is intuitive phase. During the first phase, child preoccupied with verbal skills and tries to make sense of the world but has less sophisticated mode of thought than adults. During intuitive phase the child moves away from drawing conclusions based on concrete experiences with objects, but inability to conserve cognitively in relevant to spatial information is one problem in this phase ( Jarvis, M. Chandler, 2001) The age starting from seven to ten falls under concrete operational stage. Child of this age is in school and is begin to deal with abstract concepts such as relationships, numbers, and how to reason. Child can now group certain things into categories at this stage, and it can put objects into number order, size order, and any other types of systematic ordering. At this stage it could have developed the skill of logical reasoning and thinking. It is the beginning of understanding the other people’s perspectives and views and is capable of concentrating on more than one thing at a time (ECheat.com, 2005). Final stage in the child’s cognitive development is the formal operational stage. This stage generally falls under the age of twelve to fifteen. During this stage the child has become more adult like in their thought structures and processes. Think it logically, reasonably, systematically and hypothetically. They could understand the meanings without the need for physical objects or images. This is more advanced stage of child’s cognitive development. Piaget proposed one more theory which is known as adaptation theory. According to this theory, child's cognitive development involves three fundamental processes. They are assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium. Assimilation is the adjustment involved in the incorporation of new events into pre-existing cognitive structures, where as accommodation is the adjustment involved in the formation of new mental structures needed for accommodating new information. On the other hand, equilibrium is a balance between assimilation and accommodation, which means the child striking a balance between it and the environment. Both assimilation and accommodation enabled the child to form schema, a form of action plans which guide the child in understanding what is going on around us. Schema includes actions, information, ideas, and plans. These stages are universal and flexible, and relative to factors such as maturity, and social influence ( Flannagan, 1999). Vygotsky theory of cognitive development According to Vygotski, a social constructivist, a child learns by interacting socially by means of speech and other activities with the people around it, and the adults with whom the child comes into contact play an important role in mediating its acquisition of knowledge (ECheat.com, 2005). Vygotsky came into three general claims, first one is culture, second one is language and the third one is zone of proximal development. Culture emerged out of social processes, where as language, which includes social and psychological processes are fundamentally shaped by cultural tools. And, zone of proximal development is limited to a specific time span.  According to him, children are able to learn cultural tools and social inventions through social activities, which included rules, language, writing, music, art, and counting systems. Language is the difference between thinking on an elementary and on a higher level, and is comes into three separate categories, which are social, egocentric, and Inner. Zone of proximal development (ZPD) related to do with a child's current and potential abilities to do something.  The concept of ZPD allowed a better understanding of the learning process, and recommends a better move towards education. Problem solving tasks in children could be placed into three categories, viz.  1. Independent performance; those performed independently by the children,  2. Those who could not performed even with the help of others,  3. Assisted performance: who could perform with the help of others. He believed that the history of the child and its culture needed to be understood as it overrides the cognitive schema. He believes that it was not possible for a child to learn and grow individually; adding, culture and environment play a bigger role in its cognitive development. In this regard, adults and the child's peer have the responsibility in sharing their greater collective knowledge with the younger generations (Example Essays.com, 2011). According to him every function in the child's cultural development appears twice, first at the social level, and later, on the individual level. Adding, humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as writing and speech to mediate their social environments. Initially children develop these tools to serve social functions, and used it to communicate needs. Later, internalisation of these tools leads to higher thinking skills (Rebeca Reneta, 2011). Traditionally in schools, teacher transmits information to students. But, in contrast, Vygotsky's theory promotes learning contexts in which students play an active role in learning. As he believes, teacher should collaborate with students in order to facilitate meaning of construction among them. So, roles of the teacher and students are shifted. Therefore, according to him, learning becomes a reciprocal experience both for the students and the teacher. Comparison of Piaget and Vygotsky  Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that child's cognitive development took place in different stages. Cognitive development is a process in which a child learns to think, along with other mental activities such as memory, attention, and problem solving.  Both of them agreed that egocentric speech played important role in child's cognitive development ( Rebeca Reneta, 2011). Both of them believed the relationship between the individual and the social as being a necessary relational. Contrast between the theory of Piaget and Vygotsky  They have different views in regard to different styles of thinking among children. According to Piaget, children think differently at different periods in their lives.  Piaget claims three fundamental processes. First one is assimilation, second one is accommodation, and the last one is equilibrium. In contrast, Vygotsky came into three general claims; culture, language, and zone of proximal development. According to Piaget, cognitive changes precede linguistic advances, where as Vygotsky claims that language allowed the child a far greater freedom of thought and lead to further cognitive development ( Example Essays.com, 2011). According to Vygotsky, language moves from social to individual. But, Piaget believed the development of thinking, and said language moved from individual to social. Vygotsky says that speech moved from social to inner egocentric. But, Piaget claimed that egocentric speech went away with maturity.  According to Piaget, development precedes learning. Child starts from a self centered position and moving from himself/herself into the social world as he/she develops. But, in contrast, Vygotsky believed that development begins with socialisation and language acquisition, which lead to developmental learning. Piaget says that child advanced their knowledge due to biologically regulated cognitive changes. Whereas Vygotsky believed that child was unable to develop without learning from others in the environment.  According to Piaget, child constructs knowledge through its actions on the world. But, Vygotsky argues that understanding is a social in origin, and is a smooth and gradual process ( Rebeca Reneta, 2011). Piaget states that developmental growth was independent of experience and is based on an universal characteristic of stages. In contrast, Vygotsky believed that characteristics did not cease at a certain point. Vygotsky believed that intellectual development was continually evolving without an end point; in contrast Piaget said that intellectual development takes place in stages. Vygotsky disagreed with Piaget's argument that development could not be impeded or accelerated through instruction.  Piaget used a stage model of development to show the connection between child's biological and cognitive development and according to this model brain growth is related to chronological development, underscoring the connection with biology. In contrast, Vygotsky believed that language and culture are integral to development. For him, language is the major facilitator of social learning and development ( Rebeca Reneta, 2011) Piaget saw cognitive development from a biological perspective, but, Vygotsky stresses on social interaction which is the major impetus for development. Child Development business diagram. Source: CAN STOCK PHOTO Conclusion Child’s views and primitive laws for its interpretation of nature are sometimes fascinating. Piaget found the secrets of learning and knowledge hidden behind these cute and seemingly unreasonable thinking of children. He asked questions, and found that children do not think like grownups. Adding, its ideas are entirely sensible within the framework of the child's way of knowing. On the other hand, as Vygotsky's focus was on cognitive development, it is quite interesting to compare his views with those of Piaget. Piaget argues that individuals construct knowledge through their actions; by contrast, Vygotskian claim was that understanding is social in root, and instruction precedes development. Both of them have different viewpoints on egocentric speech in children. Piaget suggests that the child is self centered, and on the other hand, Vygotsky believed that development begins at the social level and moves towards individualism. Despite these differences, both they agree that development may be initiated by cognitive conflict. Both the theories address the issue of how social interaction helps children make cognitive progress. They have a common view regarding egocentric speech, as they both said that egocentric speech was an important part of their cognitive development. They both believed in the development of the child through stages and both examined the development of knowledge in humans. Reference CAN STOCK PHOTO. (2011) Stock Illustration - Child development business diagram [Online], Available: http://www.canstockphoto.com/child-development-business-diagram-3362624.html [08 April 2011]. Child Development Institute, LLC (2010) Play and Developmental Stages [Online] Available: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/pl2.shtml [10 April 2010] ECheat.com. (2005) Compare and Contrast Theories of Piaget and Vygotsky [Online], Available: http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=26240 [08 April 2011]. Example Essays.com. (2011) Piaget and Vygotsky [Online], Available: http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/9868.html [10 April 2011]. Flannagan, C. (1999) Applying Child Psychology to Early Child Development. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited  Ginsbury, H. Opper, S. (1979) Piaget‘s Theory of Intellectual Development. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, Inc. Jarvis, M. Chandler, E (2001) Angles on Psychology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited  Lots of Essays.com. (2011) COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN [Online], Available: http://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687058.html [08 April 2011]. Rebeca Reneta. (2011) How to Compare & Contrast the Theories of Piaget and Vygotsky [Online], Available: http://www.ehow.com/how_7741489_compare-contrast-theories-piaget-vygotsky.html [08 April 2011]. Thomson, H. Meggit, C. (1997) Human Growth and Development. Abingdon: Bookpoint Limited Read More