In 1973, the Harvard Club held a celebration to honor a distinguished scientific figure who had been invited to receive an international award worth 25,000 US dollars in recognition of his excellence and outstanding scientific contributions.

Everyone present stood in respect for this eminent personality, acknowledging the vast achievements of the great Swiss scholar whose knowledge had spread throughout the world.

It was Jean Piaget.

He had introduced the world to a new and revolutionary theory of knowledge—one that shook the foundations of long-held convictions in the psychological sciences.

Before receiving the award, Piaget humbly stood before the audience and, with a playful tone, teased the elite, confident scholars and guests present. He said that the committee had faced a dilemma in deciding which field of science should receive the prize, and apparently, he was the one who had helped them resolve the confusion. And so, they had awarded him the prize, putting an end to this delicate situation—bringing joy to the committee and satisfaction to scholars from all fields.

The person presenting the award responded to Piaget’s words by saying:
“That was a charming jest which made us all laugh. But his imagination has carried him a little too far, for the truth is that the committee unanimously agreed to nominate him. His selection was not an escape from a dilemma—how could scholars fail to honor Jean Piaget, the creator of a vision that no one before him had ever conceived?”

One of his colleagues, in praise of this distinguished scholar, said:
“Piaget was a zoologist by training, a philosopher of knowledge by profession, and a man of logic by method.”

It was well known that Piaget avoided one-on-one interviews and preferred group gatherings where he could speak about his work—his deep preoccupation with children’s intelligence, their thinking, and their language.

The remarkable achievements of this man in the first two decades of the twentieth century, which he continued to consolidate during the third decade, did not gain immediate recognition or widespread fame. Perhaps the French language stood as a barrier, since he wrote exclusively in French, limiting his audience.

It was not until the early 1960s, when some of his works were translated into English, that the scientific community began to discover this treasure.

Even then, many American readers in the mid-twentieth century paid little attention to his writings, and the works that were translated received little respect in scientific journals. Something essential was missing: American scholars had elevated numbers, statistics, and measurements to the level of sacredness. For them, science was reduced to nothing but statistical figures.

Since Piaget’s studies lacked tables, numerical correlations, levels of significance, or standard deviations, his works were rarely published and did not receive the attention they deserved.

Yet the educational arena, and the concerns of parents, were preparing for a new source of light—perhaps as a reaction to the shock of the Russian satellites orbiting in space.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning came from the sky, and thunder echoed across the earth: the psychological and educational world began to circulate Piaget’s revolutionary ideas.

But what was it in Piaget’s theory that enabled him to rise so quickly to prominence, despite the criticism directed at some of his views?

Perhaps the secret lies in the way he described the thinking of children and how they make sense of the world. His explanations touched something deep within all those who heard them.

When Piaget said that children believe the moon follows them at night during their walks, or that dreams enter through the window while they sleep, these notions may seem strange, yet they resonate with our inner feelings and experiences.

Piaget argued that such ideas are neither innate—since children abandon them as they grow older—nor are they learned, since no adult teaches them such notions.

 

It was in his effort to search for the roots of these peculiar ideas that he was able to establish his groundbreaking theory of knowledge.

Piaget … and Child Development

According to Piaget, development is a process that has two main characteristics:

• First characteristic: The individual is born with the capacity for development; that is, growth is innate in every person.

• Second characteristic: Since growth is innate, its course and progression cannot be altered or redirected.

In other words, development is an innate evolutionary process.

This developmental process occurs through major—or fundamental—stages, each of which contains smaller, secondary phases. Piaget describes these stages as indispensable tools for analyzing and understanding developmental processes. He compares them to the classification methods used in biology.

Each stage reflects a set of behavioral patterns that appear in a specific sequence during a certain approximate age span. Completing one stage paves the way for the next. Notably, Piaget avoided using statistical methods to describe these stages, preferring descriptive approaches.

Piaget’s main ideas about development can be summarized as follows:

1. There is a defined continuity across all developmental processes.

2. Development advances through generalization and differentiation (the ability to recognize similarities and differences), and both processes are continuous.

3. Continuity is characterized by a process of unfolding: what occurs in one stage is prepared by the previous stage and paves the way for the next. Thus, continuity is present at every stage.

4. Each stage includes a repetition of processes from earlier stages but with different organizations.

5. These different organizations form an ascending sequence of experiences and actions.

6. Individuals reach different levels within this ascending order, although every individual has the potential to acquire the full range of experiences and perform the actions typical for children of their age.

Piaget divided cognitive development into four major stages:

1. The Sensorimotor Stage:
   Covers the first two years of life, from birth until speech begins. Piaget named it so because during this period the child is occupied with sensory experiences and motor activities. (He wrote three books on this stage.)

2. The Pre-operational Stage:
   Spanning from age two to seven. Piaget gave this stage particular attention, especially the later years, studying it more thoroughly than any other stage. Since our focus here is early childhood education, particularly preschool and kindergarten, we will explore this stage in detail—why it is called “pre-operational,” what is meant by “operations,” the features of children’s thinking at this stage, and the educational implications.

3. The Concrete Operational Stage:
   Covers ages seven to eleven.

4. The Formal Operational Stage:
   From age eleven onward.

 

Piaget … and the Preschool Years

At the end of the sensorimotor stage, the child has organized experiences to the extent that they can attempt new ways of dealing with novel situations. At this point, the child no longer relies solely on general mental images used previously in familiar situations; instead, there is clear cognitive growth.

During the preschool years, the child’s thinking is focused on using symbols that allow greater benefit from prior experiences. They can now handle mentally objects they previously dealt with only physically. Piaget believed symbols originate from mental imitation, involving both visual images and bodily sensations. Since symbols are grounded in each child’s unique experiences, they differ from one child to another.

For example, a child may associate the sound of a bicycle wheel with the buzzing of a bee, while another may connect it to the turning of a waterwheel. Similarly, all children may understand the concept of a “bicycle,” but each has a distinct personal image of it, shaped by their individual experiences.

Thus, every word as a symbol holds a unique meaning for each child. Piaget saw one of the most important features of children’s language and thought as egocentrism—a focus on their own perspective without awareness that others may think differently. They interpret and use words based on their own experiences, without realizing that other children or adults may have different ideas. The ability to recognize others’ perspectives—what Piaget called socialized speech and thought—does not emerge until around age seven or eight.

Children’s egocentric thought and language also stem from their inability to focus on more than one aspect of a situation at a time, which significantly affects their logic.

 

Piaget’s Experiments on Conservation

Piaget was deeply interested in whether children understood the principle of conservation—the idea that matter does not change when its shape or appearance changes.

In one classic experiment, two identical containers held equal amounts of liquid. In front of the child, the liquid from one container was poured into a tall, narrow glass, and from the other into a short, wide one. Although the quantity of liquid was the same, children at this stage usually said the tall glass contained more, focusing only on height (or sometimes width). Their thinking was limited to one dimension at a time.

Only after two or three more years do children begin to coordinate multiple dimensions (height and width together), realizing the amount remains constant despite changes in appearance. Eventually, they generalize this principle to volume, weight, and number—for example, understanding that clay remains the same weight whether in one large lump or several smaller balls.

Piaget used the term operation to describe the internal mental actions that allow a child to grasp conservation. Operations are defined by their reversibility—the ability to mentally reverse a transformation to its original state.

Since preschool children cannot yet perform such operations, Piaget called this period the Pre-operational Stage.

 

Egocentrism, Morality, and Judgment

Egocentrism also appears in children’s judgments and morality. Piaget described this as moral realism—judging actions based on external consequences rather than intentions.

For example:

• Child A spills a large amount of ink while trying to help fill a pen.

• Child B, playing carelessly with his father’s pen, spills only a drop.

When asked who is naughtier, preschool children often condemn Child A, focusing only on the larger stain (the visible outcome), ignoring motives.

This egocentric perspective also explains why children sometimes disobey orders—not from defiance, but because they interpret instructions only from their own viewpoint.

 

The “American Question”

Piaget’s work on developmental stages inspired widespread interest, particularly in Western Europe and the U.S. Some American educators, impressed by the precision of his stages, posed the famous “American Question”: How can we accelerate children’s progress through these stages?

Piaget himself never sought to hasten natural development. He believed that attempts to accelerate cognitive growth were not only unlikely to succeed but could also be harmful.

In an interview with David Elkind, Piaget summarized his stance:

“In education, children should be given the maximum opportunity for self-directed activity, using materials and tools that allow them to construct knowledge themselves. If adults try to force or accelerate learning, children are deprived of the joy of discovery, and such imposed learning loses effectiveness.”

He argued that children must construct understanding at their own developmental pace; otherwise, what they learn may be superficial, rote, and easily forgotten.

 

Bruner … and the Process of Education

In the U.S., Jerome Bruner—professor of psychology at Harvard and director of cognitive studies in education—shared concerns similar to Piaget’s but with distinct emphases.

In his influential works The Process of Education (1960) and Toward a Theory of Instruction (1966), Bruner emphasized the structure of knowledge and the need for a theory of instruction aligned with developmental theories.

While Piaget stressed the independence of thought and language, Bruner argued that thought is essentially internal language, and that language plays a stronger role in shaping concepts like conservation. He also believed educators could facilitate readiness by structuring environments rich in play, tools, and guided discovery—thus slightly differing from Piaget’s caution about accelerating development.

 

Characteristics of Preschool Children

Based on Piaget and other contemporary thinkers, we can outline some key features of preschool development and related educational considerations:

1. Physical Traits:

• High energy and enjoyment of movement; need frequent opportunities for running, climbing, jumping.

• Poor fine-motor control (e.g., buttoning, tying shoes); activities requiring small precision should be minimized in favor of larger tools.

• Limited ability to focus on small objects; visual-motor coordination is still developing.

2. Social Traits:

• Flexible friendships, often shifting quickly; preference for same-gender playmates but cross-gender interactions also occur.

• Play groups are small, fluid, and loosely organized.

• Frequent but short-lived quarrels; conflicts usually resolve quickly.

• Strong interest in role play and dramatic enactments based on life experiences or stories.

3. Emotional Traits:

• Open expression of emotions, with frequent outbursts of anger.

• Vivid imagination leading to intense fears; these should be acknowledged, not dismissed.

• Common feelings of jealousy, especially in seeking approval from adults.

4. Cognitive Traits:

• Strong language development; love for talking, especially in groups.

• Still egocentric in communication and thought.

• Struggle with conservation, reversibility, and considering multiple perspectives