COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILD:

AN IMPORTANT DOMAIN IN CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

КОГНИТИВНОЕРАЗВИТИЕДЕТЕЙВНАЧАЛЬНОЙШКОЛЕ:
ВАЖНЫЙДОМЕНВДЕТСКОМРАЗВИТИИ

RuthA. Ilesanmi,
АспирантИПОКФУ
Аннотация
Одной из основных задач школьной психологии и педагогики работе с детьми
начальной школы является область когнитивного развития детей. Оценки, диагностика,
коррекция и отношение к детским интеллектуальным способностям являются одной из
важнейших задач психолого-педагогической практики. В данной работе анализируется
значение когнитивного развития детей с особым акцентом на детей в начальной
школе.Далее эта работа объясняет базовые принципы развития человеческого потенциала
путем сопоставления основных подходов к когнитивному развитию согласно теории Жана
Пиаже (Швейцария) и Льва Семеновича Выготского (Россия).
Ключевые слова:познание, когнитивное развитие, Жан Пиаже, Л. С. Выготский,
дети в начальной школе, развитие человеческого потенциального познания.

Abstract
One of the major concerns of school psychologist and pedagogy working with primary
school children is in the area of children’s cognitive development. The assessment, diagnosis,
correction, and treatment of children’s intellectual abilities are one of the most important works
of psychological-pedagogic practice. This paper analyses the importance of cognitive
development in children with a special focus on children in primary school. It further explains
the basic principles of human development by comparing the major approaches to cognitive
development according to Jean Piaget (Switzerland) and Lev Vygotsky (Russia).
Keywords: cognition, cognitive development, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, primary school
children, human development.
Introduction
Development is the changes that occur throughout lifespan. These changes occur in an
orderly (that is, development involves stages, and until a previous stage is accomplished, the next
stage does not begin) and adaptive (that is, all processes and activities at each stage of
development is suitable for that stage) manner. Itcan be physical (development that can be seen
directly and is measurable; e.g. growth in height and weight), cognitive (brain development;
development that is measured through thought processes), or social (development in the way
people interact with the environment and people around them, ability to work in groups) in
nature. Development proceeds in an orderly and predictable pattern. Different children develop
at different rates. Development is continually affected by both nature (genetic, instincts, inborn
characteristics) and nurture (environmental, learned factors). Research has shown that early
childhood may be the most important life stage for brain development. Scientists have found that
babies’ brains develop in response to stimulation. Babies who are stimulated develop more
quickly and have a more secure self-image. These affects are highly noticeable in children from
primary school period.
Cognition can be defined as the mental processes, by which knowledge is acquired,
elaborated, stored, retrieved, and used to solve problems. Cognitive development on the other
hand refers to the changes that occur in children’s mental skills and abilities over time. When
children are about 6 years old, the way they think about the world begin to change. During this
period, the preschool egocentric thinking is left behind and they begin to develop more mature
ways of thinking. These cognitive abilities continue to develop over the next 4 to 5 years as the
child engages in sequential, complex and symbol-based tasks (Anita, 2004; Osakwe, 2009).
These tasks include: verbal response, performance (arithmetic), coding, comprehension, and
composition stories.
Analysis of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland. He is the most influential developmental psychologist
in the history of psychology. Jean Piaget founded cognitive development. He stated that children
construct their knowledge (Blake and Pope, 2008). He was the first person that attempted to
explain development. Jean Piaget proposed a reasonably accurate overview of how children of
different ages think. Works of Piaget had major influence in social and emotional development,
and in education. The basic assumptions of Piaget’s theory include: (a) Children construct
knowledge from their experiences; this implies that children gain new knowledge “through
previous experiences and improve new information gotten; (b) Children learn through
“assimilation” (the incorporation of new experiences with existing ones) and “accommodation”
(changing of existing information to fit in the new information needed); (c) Development occurs
in stages that evolve through equilibration/adaptation, in which children seek a balance
(equilibrium) between what they encounter in their environments and cognitive processes and
structures they have. (d) The process of equilibration/adaptation promotes progression toward
increasingly complex thought. (e) Cognitive development is stage-like in nature. This means that
for proper development of children’s cognition, acting, and play-like forms can be used.
Piaget proposed 2 important concepts in his theory.
1. Schemes: Schema (singular), schemata (plural). An organized pattern of thought or
action that a person constructs to interpret some aspect of the person’s experience.
2. Equilibration: This is also known as adaptation. It involves two stages: assimilation and
accommodation.
(a) Assimilation is the incorporating of new information into existing schemas.
(b). Accommodation is changing the existing schemas to fit the relevant new information
about the environment
Adaption = Assimilation + Accommodation
Jean Piaget proposed 4 stages of cognitive development:
1. Sensorimotor Stage (Birth – 2 years)
2. Preoperational Stage (2–7 years)
3. Concrete operational Stage (7–11 years)
4. Formal operational Stage (11–12 years and beyond)
Sensorimotor Stage (Birth – 2 years)
This is characterized by coordination of sensory inputs and motor skills in children. it
involves transition from being reflexive to reflective (that is, children should not only receive
information, but should also give response and information in return-in the form of test,
answering of questions, and examinations). Major cognitive developmental milestone in
sensorimotor stage include the development of problem-solving abilities through object
permanence and symbolic though. Symbolic thought is the ability to represent and think about
external objects and events; it emerges toward the end of second year.
Sensorimotor stage can further be divided according to the activities that happen during
this stage.
- Reflex activity (birth – 1 month).
- Primary circular reactions (1-4 months).
- Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months).
- Coordination of secondary reactions (8-12 months).
- Tertiary circular reactions -12-18 months.
- Symbolic problem solving -18-24 months.
Piaget’s sensorimotor stage has some limitations because: it states that infants are born
with substantial innate knowledge (this proposal is not widely accepted by all psychologists; for
example, Vygotsky believes that knowledge is learned); it requires less time and experience to be
demonstrated; and as opposed to other researchers, Piaget proposed that children possess some
object permanence and memory from birth.
Preoperational Stage (2 – 7 years)
During preoperational stage, the child begins to actively develop the internal mental
representations that started at the end of the sensorimotor stage. This stage is characterized by:
(a) the rapid development of language which allows more social interaction, (b) symbolic
function / representational insight, (c) dual representation – think about an object in 2 ways at
one time (occurs at 3 years), (d) children exhibit centration– the tendency to focus on only one
especially noticeable aspect of a complicated object or situation.
Piaget’s preoperational stage has some limitations because: it supports egocentrism (this is
the inability to view situations from another’s perspective); it lacks conservation (this is the
inability to realize that if nothing is added or taken away, the amount stays the same regardless
of alterations in shape or appearance); it lacks decentration ( this is the ability to concentrate on
more than one aspect of a problem at the same time); it lacks reversibility ( that is it cannot
mentally undo an action); it supports transductive reasoning (also known as lack of logic. This
means that it cannot make inference of a cause-effect relationship simply because two events
occur close together in time and space); and it supports animism (that is the attribution of life
qualities to inanimate objects. Animism is not routine among 3-year-olds).
Concrete operational Stage (7 – 11 years)
Concrete operational stage is known as the stage of cognitive operations. During this stage,
children begin to think more logically and demonstrate deductive reasoning. Conservation of
liquid is evident at 7 years old ; conservation of substance is evident by 8 years old ;
conservation of area is mastered by 9 or 10 years old; that is , decentering and reversibility
occurs during this stage. Important characteristics of this stage include: children are able to learn
classification and seriation; and are able to reverse operations which allows the teaching of
mathematics. However, according to this stage, children cannot apply new-found logic to non-
concrete items (abstract concepts)– this is a limitation of this stage.
Formal operational Stage (11 – 12 years and beyond)
During formal operational stage, children develop mental operations on abstractions and
symbols that may not have physical and concrete forms. At this stage, children are finally fully
able to take on perspectives other than their own, even when they are not working with concrete
objects. This stage is also known as “Hypothetico-deductive reasoning” stage, because deductive
reasoning takes place at this stage.
Piaget’s formal operational stage has some limitations because: it reflects egocentrism; and
it lacks the inability to separate a person’s personal logical abstractions from the perspectives of
others and from practical considerations.
Educational Implications of Piaget’s theory on primary school children
1. It provide hands-on experience with physical objects, particularly at the elementary level
2. Good understanding of this theory helps the teacher and psychologist to explain to
children that others think differently, especially when some children show signs of egocentric
thought.
3. It helps children to explain their reasoning and challenge illogical explanations.
4. It gives teachers assurance whether children have adequate knowledge and skills before
moving on to more complex topics and activities.
5. It relates abstract and hypothetical ideas to concrete objects and/or observable events.
Analysis of Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development
Vygotsky is a Russian psychologist who was a contemporary of Piaget. He died of
tuberculosis in 1934 at the age of 38, but he had produced over 100 books and articles before he
died. Vygotsky emphasized the role of the environment in children’s intellectual development.
His theory was also based on sociocultural perspective (Daniels 2001). The basic assumptions of
Vygotsky’s theory include:(a) children can perform more challenging tasks when assisted; (b)
Play allows children to stretch themselves cognitively; (c) Through both informal conversations
and formal schooling, adults convey to children ways in which their culture interprets and
responds to the world; (d) Thought and language become increasingly interdependent in the first
few years of life; (e) Complex mental processes begin as social activities and then progress to
internalized processes; (f) Concepts of mediated learning, scaffolding, and cognitive tools are
important to understand children’s cognitive development; (g) Challenging tasks promote
maximum cognitive growth (zone of proximal development).
Vygotsky proposed 3 important concepts in his theory.
1. Internalization: This is the absorption of knowledge from context.That is, the
environment determines what the child internalizes. According to Vygotsky, the cultural
internalization of development in children includes: ontogenic, microgenic, phylogenic, and
sociocultural.
2. Scaffolding: This is the tendency to give support to a child near the limit of capability.
3. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): This is the zone of potential development. The
range of potential between a child’s observable level of realized ability (performance) and the
child’s underlying latent capacity (competence), which is not directly obvious. This also include
the range of tasks that a child can perform with the help and guidance of others but cannot yet
perform independently (Vygotsky 1982).
Educational Implications of Vygotsky’s Theory on primary school children
1. It supports active participation in children.
2. It allows acceptance of individual differences in primary school children.
3. It supports assisted discovery and peer collaboration in children.
4. It encourages cooperative learning in children.
5. It allows children to be active learners and not passive learners.

Conclusion
During the period of cognitive growth in primary school children, these children begin to
think of themselves in more sophisticated ways. This thinking results in self-examination,
changing self-concept and self-esteem in children, as well as children comparing themselves to
others. The level of reasoning of children in primary schools can be said to be immature. For
example, they cannot solve problems properly (in children, the ability to solve problems depends
on the child’s age); because the process of problem solving requires abstract thinking. Abstract
thinking is the ability to imagine other perspectives or alternatives, and the ability to anticipate
needs and action. This means that children in this age group do not usually understand the
concept of time (that time changes). But cognitive skills mature rapidly and problem solving
skills advance accordingly; this implies that cognitive development includes an orderly and
predictable pattern. As regards education, we can learn as much about children’s cognitive
development from examining their incorrect answers to test items as from examining their
correct answers. Piaget and Vygotsky proposed better ways to understand children’s cognition
and cognitive development.

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