Child Development and Pedagogy
Child Development and Pedagogy carries 30 of the 150 Paper I questions. It tests how children aged 6–11 grow, learn and differ, and whether you can use theory to justify classroom decisions.
Core ideas
- Piaget: development moves through sensorimotor, preoperational (2–7), concrete operational (7–11) and formal operational (11+). Preoperational children are egocentric and lack conservation; concrete operational children conserve number, mass and volume.
- Vygotsky: learning is social. The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the gap between what a child can do alone and with help; scaffolding is temporary support within that gap.
- Kohlberg: moral reasoning moves from pre-conventional (punishment/obedience), to conventional (social approval/law), to post-conventional (universal principles).
- Inclusive education means adapting tasks, not separating children; learning disabilities are not the same as low intelligence.
Worked example
A child sees two equal clay balls. One is rolled into a long snake. Asked whether the amount is the same, the child says, “No, the snake has more.” Reason: the child centres on one dimension (length), a preoperational trait. The child has not yet achieved conservation. The correct classroom response is not “wrong” but concrete comparison: roll it back and ask again, then vary the task with water and beads. This is a diagnosis of cognitive stage, not a behaviour problem.
Traps
Do not label a preoperational child “learning disabled” from one conservation task. Do not confuse Piaget’s stages with Vygotsky’s ZPD. Do not treat Kohlberg’s stages as fixed ages. Do not answer “punishment” for a child who follows rules to please the teacher - that is conventional, not pre-conventional.