Contributions and Limitations of Piaget’s Theory
Piaget convinced the field that children are active learners whose minds consist of rich structures of knowledge. Besides investigating children’s understanding of the physical world, Piaget explored their reasoning about the social world. His stages have sparked a wealth of research on children’s conceptions of themselves, other people, and social relationships. In practical terms, Piaget’s theory encouraged the development of educational philosophies and programs that emphasize children’s discovery learning and direct contact with the environment.
Despite Piaget’s overwhelming contributions, his theory has been challenged. Research indicates that Piaget underestimated the competencies of infants and preschoolers. When young children are given tasks scaled down in difficulty and relevant to their everyday experiences, their understanding appears closer to that of the older child and adult than Piaget assumed. Also, adolescents generally reach their full intellectual potential only in areas of endeavor in which they have had extensive education and experience. These findings have led many researchers to conclude that cognitive maturity depends heavily on the complexity of knowledge sampled and the individual’s familiarity with the task
