©2001 Allyn & Bacon
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Chapter 9: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
Early childhood brings dramatic advances in mental representation. Aside from the development of language and make-believe play, Piaget's description of the preoperational stage emphasizes young children's cognitive limitations. Newer research reveals that preschoolers show the beginnings of logical, reflective thought when tasks are simplified and made relevant to their everyday experiences. Piaget's theory has had a powerful influence on education, promoting child-oriented approaches to teaching and learning.
Whereas Piaget believed that language is of little importance in cognitive development, Vygotsky regarded it as the foundation for all higher cognitive processes. As adults and more skilled peers provide children with verbal guidance on challenging tasks, children incorporate these dialogues into their self-directed speech and use them to regulate their own behavior. A Vygotskian classroom emphasizes assisted discovery, including verbal support from teachers and peer collaboration.
A variety of information-processing skills improve during early childhood. With age, preschoolers sustain attention for longer periods of time, and their recognition memory becomes highly accurate. Recall develops more slowly because preschoolers are not yet effective users of memory strategies. Like adults, young children remember everyday events in a logical, well-organized fashion, and their memory for special, one-time events improves. Preschoolers also make great strides in problem solving skills, generating a variety of strategies for finding solutions. Around the same time, children begin to construct a set of beliefs about mental activities. Through informal experiences, preschoolers also develop a basic understanding of written symbols and mathematical concepts.
A stimulating home environment, warm parenting, and reasonable demands for mature behavior continue to predict mental development in early childhood. Formal academic training in early childhood undermines motivation and other aspects of emotional well-being. Although test score gains resulting from early intervention such as Head Start eventually decline, at-risk children show long-term benefits in school adjustment. High-quality child care can serve as effective intervention, whereas poor-quality child care undermines children's development regardless of SES background.
Language development proceeds at a rapid pace during early childhood. By the end of the preschool years, children have an extensive vocabulary, use most of the grammatical constructions of their language competently, and are effective conversationalists. Opportunities for conversational give-and-take with adults enhance these skills.
©2001 Allyn & Bacon |