Essay on Jean Piaget vs. Levy Vygotsky - 586 Words

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky both have very different yet similar views about the child and tenets within their theoretical perspectives. While Piaget sees children as ‘little scientists’, curious little discoverers who learn through the development attained at each of his four stages, Vygotsky views the child as competent and capable and that the child’s development is lead by their learning. Though Vygotsky puts greater emphasis on the sociocultural aspects of learning, both Piaget and Vygotsky consider sociocultural theory in their perspectives. The major tenets of Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory lie largely in his stages of development. Piaget sees children as â€Å"little scientists who are constantly creating and testing their†¦show more content†¦It consists of the ability to think theoretically and argue complex statements (Swift, n.d.). Piaget believed that children should be allowed to ‘explore and experiment’ as they please and through this the child will be provided with the room to expand their current knowledge about their world and the people in it (Ackermann, n.d.). In addition, this helps with the process of assimilation and accommodation, the ability to understand an idea or concept and fit it into an already existing schema such as, realising that cats and dogs are similarly furry and have four legs but are different animals. Piaget’s understanding of children is that they are only able to complete a given task when they are psychologically able which reverts back to his four developmental stages. The ages of these stages refer to times in the child’s life where he has seen children show an extensive increase in their learning and understanding (Atherton, 2011). In Te WhÄ riki (M.o.E, 2006), this is reflected on page 11 as it states that the children within the centre will be p rovided with activities to fit their age and stage of development. To Piaget, children are perceived, not as little adults, but as people with their own expanding view of the world which transform with every connection made between the people and things s/he associates with (Ackermann, n.d.). Ackermann states that Piaget saw knowledge as the experienceShow MoreRelatedLifespan Developmental Psychology: An Overview4022 Words   |  16 Pagesperspectives and theories available to understand this development. The better self-approach would be to understand all of them and apply them in their respective areas of specialization accordingly. Some of the most eminent theories in this regard are Jean Piagets Stage Theory, Lev Vygotskys Social constructivism, Albert Banduras Social learning theory, Erik Eriksons eight stages of psychosocial development and John B. Watsons and B.F. Skinners behaviorism , attachment theory describes kinds of