CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Erikson, Piaget, & The Social Work Code of Ethics

Erikson, Piaget, & The Social Work Code of Ethics

Introduction

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Erik Erikson (1902-1994) were psychologists with surprisingly parallel careers. Both Piaget and Erikson were European scholars who were taught in the Freudian tradition of psychoanalysis; both would eventually reject Freud's model of the mind; and both would make important strides in charting the development of children. There are, however, some key distinctions between these two thinkers.

Piaget's Theory

According to Piaget, children in the earliest stages of life, from birth to 2 years, exist in a sensory-motor stage, where they learn to move and operate their bodies as well as begin to understand simple symbols. In this early stage, children are curious about their environment and begin to learn how to interpret it in sensible ways. The next stage is called preoperational thought and lasts from the ages of 2 until 7. In this stage, children develop stable concepts, mental reasoning and imagination. What is distinct and important about Piaget's views is that he considered imagination and play to be crucial to enable every child to develop his own sense of self and to foster healthy learning habits (Woolfolk, 2007).

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Piaget's theory believes that a child learns through adaptation schemes by accommodating and assimilating their environment. According to Piaget development occurs in stages and that each child passes and progresses through each stage individually:

Stage 1: Sensorimotor Period (from birth to 2 years old). At this period the learning and controlling of the environment is through the motor responses to sensory stimuli. Repetition is important at this stage. There is a lack of awareness in object permanence at this stage

Stage 2: Preoperational Period (2 years old - 7 years old).Piaget defines Operations as the ability to reverse mental processes and recognize the properties of objects. At this stage a child acquires language and relies on perception to solve problems.

Stage 3: Concrete-Operations Period (7 years old - 11 years old). At this stage a child would have had some understanding of the physical properties of objects (conservation) but with limitation.

Stage 4: Formal-Operations Period (Adolescence). At this stage the child has the ability to manipulate concepts, formulate plans, and hypothesize situations. (Santrock, 2008)

Erikson's Theory

Erickson proposed nine stages of life, the earlier of which overlap with Piaget's. Erikson's first stage, infancy, lasts from birth until 18 months and involves a child learning to trust the world and the people in it. Early childhood -- lasting until about the third year of life -- requires individuals to learn their own bodies, skills and existence. During the play age, from 3 until 5, a child learns to create imaginative play situations and imagine new roles. In the school age, from 6 to 12, children gain confidence in their abilities and gain a sense of industry. From ages 12 to 18, the child experiences adolescence, during which she develops an autonomous identity. The remaining four stages of Erikson's theory pertain ...