Have you ever wondered how children learn life lessons, think and grow? The secret lies in child development theories that contain unique facts about children’s growth.
In this article, you will get information about the major theories of development that help in understanding how a child develops mentally,
emotionally and socially. From Piaget, Erikson to Vygotsky and Skinner, every theory has been explained in easy language. If you are a parent, teacher or student, then this article is a complete guide for you.
Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory
Whenever we talk about child development theories, Jean Piaget’s name is taken first. He proved that children’s process of thinking, understanding and learning is different and this process develops in a sequence over time.
His theory is still considered a strong foundation of theories of early childhood education, and behavioral child development theories.
Jean Piaget: Beginning of life and inspiration
Jean Piaget was born on 9 August 1896 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He showed keen interest in animals since childhood.
At the age of 11, he wrote a scientific paper by researching an albino bird and by the age of 15, many of his reports had been published.
He studied zoology and philosophy from the University of Neuchâtel and received a PhD in 1918. But his real inclination was towards understanding the origin and limitations of human knowledge.
Beginning of discovery: Children think, but not like adults
In the 1920s, Piaget started working with Albert Binet at an institute in Paris. Binet was the same scientist who created the world’s first IQ test, which could be used to understand the thinking and understanding ability of a person.
When Piaget listened to the answers of children during the IQ test, he noticed that when children give a wrong answer to a question, that mistake does not happen without reason, there is something unique in it.
For example, suppose you ask a child “If 3 birds are sitting on a tree and 2 flew away, then how many are left?” A small child can say, “None survived”, because in his view the birds that flew away are the whole story.
He does not think that the rest of the birds remained sitting there. Now you may think that his answer is wrong,
but Piaget understood that this mistake is according to his age of thinking. This does not mean that the child is stupid but he is still at a special level of learning.
Four stages of Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory
Piaget believed that a child’s ability to think and understand develops gradually, and this development takes place in four different stages. Any child, irrespective of the country, family or culture, passes through these stages in a fixed order. That is, no one can skip any stage and move ahead.
1. Sensorimotor Stage (from birth to 2 years)
In this stage, the child tries to understand the world through his senses and muscle activities. This is the earliest time for him to learn from experiences.
Main features
- The child begins to understand that even if an object is not visible, it still exists.
- The child repeats any observed behavior after some time. The child tries to recognize himself in the mirror.
- Playing by imitating real life situations, such as pretending to talk on the phone or making faces at the parents.
2. Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years)
At this age, the child starts using language, imagination and symbols, but he is still weak in logical thinking.
Main features
- Egocentrism: The child sees things only from his own perspective.
- Animism: He considers even inanimate objects to be related to life and emotion and touches them repeatedly in the hope that he will play with them.
- Symbolic Play: It is normal for a child of this age to consider a stick as a magic wand or a sword.
Preoperational Stage Identification Experiment
So let’s do a small fun test through which you will be able to see for yourself at what level of thinking the child is. Take two similar small glasses and fill both with equal amount of juice.
Now show it to the child and ask “See son, both have equal amount of juice, right?” (He will say yes.) Now take juice from one glass and pour it into a thin long bottle. Then ask the child “Now tell me, which one has more juice?” What will the child say?
Most children will say “There is more in the tall bottle!” Why? Because he understands length as the quantity. He does not yet understand that changing the shape does not change the quantity of juice.
The Three Mountain Task
Piaget conducted this experiment to test the egocentrism of children. Children in the Preoperational Stage consider their perspective to be the right one and are unable to understand the perspectives of others, but they are able to answer, even if they give the wrong answer.
3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years)
In this stage, the child now starts thinking rationally but only about concrete, real things.
Key abilities:
- Conservation: In the Concrete Operational Stage, the child can understand that changing the shape of things does not change their quantity.
- Reversibility: Mentally undoing things.
- Classification and Seriation: During this time, the child learns to classify and put objects in order.
Its educational importance
In this stage, children are introduced to mathematics, science, and manipulatives to solve real problems. And group activities should be given so that their ability to think and understand develops rapidly and the child can remember the things learned at this age for the rest of his life.
4. Formal Operational Stage (12 years and beyond)
This is the stage when the child becomes capable of abstract thinking, hypothesis based problems and reasoning and learns to become a responsible citizen.
Key abilities of the Formal Operational Stage:
- Hypothetical thinking: “What would happen if the sun stopped rising?”
- Deductive reasoning: deducing a rule from a conclusion.
- Moral and philosophical thinking.
Eye Experiment (Piaget, 1970):
Piaget tested children’s thinking by asking them a fun question “If you were given a third eye, where would you put it on your body?” Young children (Concrete stage) said, “On the forehead,”
because that is where the eye is for them. Their thinking is simple and based on real life. Older children (Formal stage) said, “On the hand, so I can see behind corners” or “On the back,
so I can see if someone comes from behind.” This means that older children can think with imagination and logic—the next level of cognitive development.
Contribution of Piaget’s Theory to Education
Jean Piaget believed that intelligence is not fixed at birth, but it develops with age and experience. That is, as a child grows up and understands things around him, his thinking ability also increases.
Piaget also said that every child should be taught according to his level of development. If the child is still in the preoperational stage, then explaining abstract things to him will be useless. Therefore,
he said that readiness i.e. “being ready to learn” is important. He also said that when children learn something by trying, playing or experimenting, then that learning is more effective
this is called Discovery Learning. In 1966, major changes were made in the primary education system of Britain on the basis of Piaget’s theory and discovery-based learning was adopted.
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Guided Participation Theory by Barbara Rogoff
When we talk about children’s learning, schools, books and classrooms often come to mind. But have you ever wondered how much children learn from home, society and everyday activities? Barbara Rogoff, a renowned psychologist and educationist,
proved this – that children learn best when they participate in an activity with the people around them. With this thought in mind, she developed Guided Participation Theory.
This theory focuses on the social and cultural environment of children and explains that children learn better when they do something with someone, not just by watching or listening.
Origin of Guided Participation Theory
Barbara Rogoff developed this theory in the 1990s when she studied children’s education and family involvement in different cultures around the world.
This theory has its roots in Lev Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, where it was believed that learning is a social process. Rogoff took this thought further and said that the child is not just a “learner” but an active participant.
Three main pillars of Guided Participation Theory
1. Guided Participation – “Learning together”
The first and most important principle of Barbara Rogoff’s Guided Participation Theory says that “When a child does some work with an adult, he not only learns the work but also learns the way of thinking.” This theory of development in education tells us that the most effective learning for a child happens when he becomes a part of the learning process and not just a listener.
Example:
The mother is rolling roti in the kitchen, the child puts his hand in kneading the dough, this is not just help but the child is also learning the reason and method of kneading the dough.
2. Apprenticeship Model – “Learning like a student”
The second important pillar of Barbara Rogoff’s Guided Participation Theory is the Apprenticeship Model,
which means “The child learns to work under the supervision of a knowledgeable or experienced person,
just like a disciple learns from his teacher.” This theory states in child development theories that the child is not limited to just watching or listening to learn, he participates directly, and over time becomes proficient in that task.
Example:
In the beginning, the child just watches how the mother holds the milk bottle. Then the mother slowly hands the bottle to him. After dropping or overturning it a few times,
the child learns how to hold the bottle and drink milk. Over time, he starts drinking from the bottle himself. This is the process of learning apprenticeship.
3. Intent Community Participation
The third main principle of Barbara Rogoff’s Guided Participation Theory is Intent Community Participation.
This means that “children are not taught forcefully, but they learn by themselves by participating in the activities of society and family.
This idea gives a new direction to theories of child development and developmental theories, where the learning environment is also present outside the school, in the home and community.
Example:
A village girl goes to the field with her mother. There is no formal “learning” process but gradually she learns to sow seeds, water and use a shovel and she also becomes an expert in it. In all this, the child is not “studying separately” but is still learning and this is the essence of Rogoff’s theory.
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Its use in education
Barbara Rogoff’s Guided Participation Theory is playing an important role in many child development theories and theories of early childhood education today. Now it is believed that a child learns better not by just listening,
but by doing it himself and connecting with the society. This thinking has strengthened the direction of participatory learning and collaborative classrooms,
where teachers are no longer just imparters of knowledge but have become guides. For example Generally, when a child takes care of plants in the classroom or participates in a group project,
he or she learns skills such as responsibility, cooperation, and problem solving.
This theory is being adopted in today’s education system because it gives children the opportunity to learn through active participation, which is effective in the long term.
Conclusion
Barbara Rogoff’s Guided Participation Theory states that children learn better by doing and connecting with the environment, rather than just listening or reading. When a child participates in an activity of the family,
community, or school such as cooking with his or her mother or doing a group project with friends he or she learns not just work but also important life experiences.
This theory believes that learning is a social process, which is connected to everyday life. That is why this thinking has become the basis of today’s participatory learning and child-centric education,
where children are considered “doers” rather than “listeners. Rogoff’s thinking teaches us that every child can learn deeply from his or her experiences, just if he or she gets the opportunity and environment. Needed
Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory
When we talk about child development theories, our focus is mostly on the child’s mental and academic development, but we often do not pay attention to a very important aspect,
that is the emotional and social development of children. A famous German-American psychologist named Erik Erikson did deep research on this and gave the world a new thought:
that the personality of a human being goes through different social conflicts at different ages, and these conflicts lay the foundation of his development.
This theory of his is known as Psychosocial Development Theory and it is considered the most important among today’s developmental theories.
Structure of Erikson’s theory
Erik Erikson has divided the whole life of a human being into 8 different stages. According to him, in every stage a person has to face a particular emotional and social conflict.
If he overcomes this conflict positively, then his personality and self-image become stronger. This theory was inspired by Freud’s theories.
The only difference is that while Freud emphasized on internal desires, Erikson considered the role of society and culture more important, which is very important in today’s child development theories and theory of development in education.
5 important early stages for children and adolescents
1. Trust vs. Mistrust (from birth to 1.5 years)
In this stage, the child learns to trust the world around him, such as if the parents give him love, attention and protection, then he considers the world a safe place and remains happy.
Positive result: When the child cries and the mother/father responds immediately, such as taking him in his arms, speaking lovingly or understanding his need,
then the child learns that “when I need, there is someone who helps me. This feeling gradually takes the form of trust, which becomes the foundation of his mental and emotional development.
Negative result: If the child cries repeatedly and does not get any response, or the parents ignore it — then the child feels that “no one pays attention to my need.”
Gradually, he stops trusting the people around him, relationships and society, which can lead to emotional insecurity, anxiety, and low self-confidence in the future.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1.5 to 3 years)
At this age, the child gradually learns to do things on his own like eating, buttoning, wearing shoes or going to the toilet. This is the period when the feeling of self-reliance starts developing in him.
Positive result: If the parents are patient, and give him a chance to try himself, then the child learns – “I can do it myself”, which is important for his confidence and further development because only through this the child learns to become self-confident.
Negative result: But if he is stopped every time or is told “You will make me fall”, “It is not in your control”, then he can be filled with shame and hesitation,
due to which his psychological development can stop and his morale starts weakening due to which the child is not able to become self-confident.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3 to 6 years)
At this age the child becomes more active and curious and wants to try new things like making up stories, role-playing, drama, and asking lots of “why?”
Positive results: During this time, if parents and teachers encourage him, appreciate his imagination and appreciate his efforts, then he develops a sense of initiative, i.e., to start something new. This makes him creative, confident and a leader.
Negative results: But if the child is repeatedly interrupted like “keep quiet”, “don’t talk in the conversation of elders”, “you don’t know anything”, then he starts considering himself wrong.
This can give rise to a feeling of guilt in him, which hinders his emotional development. Understanding this stage is very important according to theories of early childhood education and developmental theory.
It shows that when the right support is received, the child not only learns, but also moves towards doing something new on his own, which is necessary for the growth of every human being.
4. Industry vs. Inferiority (6 to 12 years)
At this age, the child enters the world of school where he has to face studies, friendship, teamwork, and many responsibilities and he struggles with these. He also learns and this is the time when he wants to prove himself.
Positive Result: If he gets encouragement like his hard work is appreciated, he is praised for completing small targets, then he develops the habit of working hard and self-esteem.
Negative Result: But if he is compared with others “Look how good he is, you can’t do it” or if he is humiliated for every failure, then he gets an inferiority complex and starts considering himself inferior.
Example
Suppose a teenage boy wants to become a photographer, but the parents say “what will happen with this, isn’t this a good career option?” and make fun of him.
In such a situation, the child starts doubting himself and may get confused about his identity. At this stage, understanding the child, guiding him and giving him space,
all three are important. This is why early childhood theorists and developmental theories consider this age to be the most important for identity formation.
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Use in Education Theory of Development in Education
Erikson’s psychosocial theory is not just a theory of books, it is a kind of real-life GPS for today’s teachers and parents, which tells what are the emotional and social needs of the child at every age. In schools, emphasis is often laid on the reading-writing skills of the child,
but developmental theory tells that not only academic grades, but the child’s self-confidence, self-image and emotional health are equally important. If a child fails repeatedly and is called “useless”, then he can sink into the feeling of inferiority.
But if the teacher praises his hard work “You tried your best, I am proud of you”. Then the same child can become hardworking and self-confident in future.
This thinking has become the basis of many child development theories and theories of early childhood education today where the child is not only taught, but his emotional needs are also understood.
Robert Siegler’s Overlapping Waves Theory
Theorists like Jean Piaget believed that children pass through cognitive stages one after the other, but Robert Siegler presented a unique perspective.
He said that children’s thinking does not stop at any stage, rather they think using many strategies simultaneously.
He named this thinking in 1996 as “Overlapping Waves Theory”. This theory is playing an important role in modern child development theories today.
Origin of the theory and foundation of the theory
Siegler said in the 1990s that children adopt multiple cognitive strategies at the same time to solve a problem. Children gradually understand through trial-and-error which strategy is most effective when.
Three main principles of Overlapping Waves Theory
1. Multiple Strategies at Once
When children solve a question, they do not adopt only one method. They try in many ways, for example, if they want to add “8 + 6”, then sometimes they count with their fingers, sometimes add in their mind, and sometimes guess, that is, the child uses many methods simultaneously while thinking.
2. Strategy Variability:
As the child learns, his way of thinking also changes. First he counts with his fingers, then starts adding in his mind.
But this change does not happen suddenly, it happens gradually. This means that new techniques keep getting added, and the old ones gradually decrease.
3. Adaptivity
Children do not adopt the same method every time. They change their strategy according to the difficulty of the question. For example, if the question is easy, then they quickly guess, and if the question is difficult, then they take the help of fingers or other help. That is, the child adopts the way of thinking according to the situation.
B.F. Skinner’s Behavioral Development Theory (Operant Conditioning)
When we see children doing something strange or behaving in the same way over and over again, we often wonder “Why is this child doing this?” B.F. Skinner, a famous American psychologist, answers this question in a very clear and simple way.
He said: “The behaviour of children depends on their environment. They behave as per the environment they see.
Skinner’s Behavioral Development Theory, which is called Operant Conditioning, explains that: If a child gets a reward after doing something like praise,
chocolate, or love, then he repeats that behaviour again. But if he gets punishment after doing something like scolding, ignoring or any harm,
then he starts distancing himself from that behaviour. That is, children do not think to learn, but they understand that “If I get benefit then I will do it again, otherwise not.”
Creation of Operant Conditioning Theory
It was in the 1930s, when most psychologists believed that the behaviour of children is formed by their mind and emotions. But B.F. Skinner presented a completely different thinking.
He said that the behaviour of children depends on what response they get in return for their behaviour, reward or punishment. That is, the child will do only that which benefits him and will leave that which is harmful.
This thinking was the basis of his Operant Conditioning Theory. Skinner Box Experiments that proved the theory Skinner made a special machine which he called “Skinner Box”
in which he conducted behavioral experiments on rats and pigeons. As soon as the rat pressed a button, it got a piece of food, i.e. it got a reward.
Sometimes it was also given a slight shock with the same button, i.e. it got punishment. Through these experiments, Skinner proved that:
Reward repeats behavior Punishment can stop that behavior This theory later became a strong foundation of behavioral child development theories where it was believed that children also learn from reward and punishment,
not just by thinking or understanding. This theory gave a new direction in the world of education and upbringing,
where a reason and reaction started being understood behind every behavior of the child. That is why even today operant conditioning is included in modern child development theories.
4 Main Principles of B.F. Skinner
1. Positive Reinforcement
This happens when a child does a good deed and gets a reward. This makes him learn to do something better He understands that his behaviour was correct and he will do the same in future.
Example:
If the child does his homework on time and the teacher says, “Very good, take this gold star or a chocolate,
then the child will try to do his homework on time next time as well. This method is considered to be the most effective for promoting good behaviour in child development theories.
2. Negative Reinforcement
This seems a little complicated, but it is simple. Here the child behaves well so that something unwanted does not happen.
Example:
Suppose the child is stubborn, cries, then the parents turn off the TV. The next time the child sits quietly so that the TV does not turn off.
Here the child is not getting a “reward”, but is avoiding “loss”. This makes him understand that it is better to remain silent.
Note that negative reinforcement is not a punishment, it is just a process of removing discomfort.
3. Punishment
When a child does something wrong and has to face direct consequences like getting scolded, less play time or being excluded from an activity or losing pocket money.
Example
If a child makes noise in the class and the teacher scolds him or sends him out, then he will avoid doing this behavior next time.
But in such a situation, repeated or harsh punishment can make the child scared, rebellious or lack confidence.
That is why nowadays, reinforcement is given more preference than punishment in theories of child development.
4. Extinction
When a child tries to attract attention with some bad behavior and parents or teachers do not react to it, then the child gradually gives up that habit.
Example:
If a child repeatedly does drama to get everyone’s attention, but the parents ignore him and behave normally,
then he understands that his method is no longer effective and he stops the drama. This technique is considered to be very effective in behavioral child development theories, but it is important to use it with patience and understanding.
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The main point
With the help of these four methods, we can understand how a child’s behavior is formed and how we can contribute to his proper development.
This is the basic objective of Skinner’s behavioral child development theory that the child should become intelligent and responsible not only in studies but also in behavior.
Role in Education – How the Theory Works in Today’s Schools
Skinner’s Behavioral Development Theory, known as Operant Conditioning, has become an effective and practical method of behavior management in today’s schools.
According to this theory, children repeat the behavior that gets them rewarded or appreciated. This is why systems like reward charts,
gold stars, class points, and best student badges have become common in today’s education system and play an important role in the growth of children.
This theory not only promotes positive behavior in children,but also strengthens their confidence and self-esteem. As a theory of development in education,
it gives teachers a tool to encourage children in the right direction without scolding or intimidating them. Among the many child development theories,
this theory is considered special because it believes in shaping behavior through experience and consequences, which is proving to be extremely effective in today’s schools and parenting.
Real data and evidence
UNICEF’s Global Annual Results Report 2019 shows that consistent with modern developmental theory, when schools use positive reinforcement, such as praising a child’s achievements, giving stars for attendance, or class points, children’s school attendance increases by about 25%.
Conclusion Of Child Development Theories
Finally, it should be understood that child development theories help us understand how a child grows physically, mentally, socially and emotionally.
These theories of development are not just academic information, but act as a guide for every parent, teacher.
When we understand these theories, we are able to read the behavior of children better and can give them the right support at every stage of their development,
whether it is Piaget’s cognitive development theory or Erikson’s psychosocial theory, every theory helps us understand different aspects of a child’s mind and behavior.