AN INTRODUCTION TO JEAN PIAGET / CARSON MCGUIRE and TOM ROWLAND.

THE CONTRIBUTION MADE BY PIAGET TO KNOWLEDGE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN IS SUMMARIZED. PIAGET'S INFLUENCE ON BERLYNE AND OTHER PSYCHOLOGISTS, THE RESEARCH METHODS USED BY PIAGET, AND THE CONCEPTS HE FORMULATED ARE BRIEFLY DESCRIBED. THE GOAL OF HIS RESEARCH CONDUCTED AT GENEVA IS IDENTIFIED AS THE DISCOVERY OF THE SUCCESSIVE STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLIGENCE. THE AUTHORS FIND THAT PIAGET DESCRIBES THESE STAGES AS OCCURRING IN CONSTANT, INVARIANT SEQUENCE BUT WITH NO TIME BOUNDARIES IN CONTRAST WITH THE GESELLIAN VIEW THAT STAGES HAVE FIRM UPPER AND LOWER TIME LIMITS. THE AUTHORS STATE THAT THE MATURATIONIST VIEW OF FIXED INTELLIGENCE AND PREDETERMINED DEVELOPMENT IS NO LONGER VALID. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FINDING BY PIAGET THAT THE CHILD'S INTELLIGENCE IS QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT FROM ADULT INTELLIGENCE IS PRESENTED. VARIOUS ABILITIES AND CONCEPTS ACQUIRED BY CHILDREN IN THE CHRONOLOGICALLY SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT ARE DESCRIBED. THE AUTHORS ALSO COMMENT THAT PIAGET IS A UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT INDIVIDUAL WHOSE THEORIES SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD AT LEAST MINIMALLY BY TEACHERS. (AL)

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