1. Piaget and education Child-centred approach

2. Starter How many different ways do you learn? What are the tools you need to be a life long learner? Who is the biggest influence on your learning? Have the answers to these questions changed from when you were a lot younger? How?

3. The role of the teacher Piaget was instrumental in the shift from traditional classroom instruction to a more child- centred approach to learning involving active discovery and learning through experience. As such, the role of the teacher should be one of providing the necessary materials and tasks to enable children to solve problems and discover new concepts for themselves.

4. Readiness According to Piaget the teacher should take a readiness approach in the classroom, presenting opportunities for the learning of new concepts when the individual is ready. This means that each child should progress at a pace which suits the individual.

5. Burman (1994) Analysed the implications of applying Piaget’s ideas in the classroom. She suggested how, taken to extremes, as it has been in some cases, the child-centred approach might result in the following problems:

6. It makes the teacher’s position ambiguous; the teacher is responsible for learning but is supposed to let the child progress at their own pace.

7. The emphasis on readiness may perpetuate and even exaggerate social inequalities; children from advantaged social backgrounds are ‘ready’ before those from less advantaged backgrounds and therefore progress more rapidly.

8. The child-centred approach has led to an assumption that failure must always be due to a problem with the child (lack of ability, poor motivation, etc.) rather than the fault of the teacher.

9. Emphasis on individual programmes of learning may mean that social skills like cooperation and empathy, which would be gained through working with others, are not encouraged or valued sufficiently.