Cognitive
development of
primary schoolers
Jean Piaget is the foremost theorist on
cognitive development. According to
him, intelligence is the basic
mechanism of ensuring balance in the
relations between the person and the
environment. Everything that a person
experiences is a continuous process of
assimilation and accommodation.
1
Jean Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage
Concrete operational is the third stage in piaget's
theory of cognitive development. It's pants from
age 7 to approximately 11 years old . During this
time, children have better understanding of their
thinking skills. Children begin to think logically
about concrete events, particularly their own
experiences.
2
•Logic
Concrete operational thinkers, according to piaget, can already make use of
inductive logic. INDUCTIVE LOGIC involves thinking from a special
experience to a general principle. But at this stage, children have great
difficulty in using DEDUCTIVE LOGIC our beginning with a general principle
leading to specific events.
• Reversibility
One of the most important developments in the stage is an understanding of
reversibility, are awareness that action can be reversed. An example of this is
being able to reverse the order of relationship between mental categories. (
For example in arithmetic, 3 + 4 = 7 and 7 - 4 = 3 close and open 3 + 4 = 7
and 7 - 4 = 3 ). 3
Cognitive Milestones
Elementary age children encounter developmental
milestones. This is the stage when they live behind
egocentric thinking and start to develop, a more mature
way of looking at things, which greatly enhances
children's problem solving skills, piaget calls this process
DECENTRATION. They develop certain skills within a
particular time frame the skills they learn are in a
SEQUENTIAL MANNER, meaning they need to
understand numbers before they can perform a
mathematical equation.
4
Young primary school aged children can tell left from right .
Their ability to speak and express themselves develop rapidly
in school, they share about themselves and their families
During play, they practice using the word and language they
learn in school.
information processing skills
Several theories argue that like the computer, the human mind
is a system that can process information through the
application of logical rules and strategies. They also believe that
the mind receives information, perform separation to change
its form and content, stores and locate it and generates
response from it. 5
Implications to child care, education and parenting
Children have varying intelligence profile. This profiles may be based on
influences of learning and achievement. Parents, child care providers and
teachers should be able to recognize by these:
• help children draw on their strengths and promote growth in the
weaknesses
•planning lessons that cater to multiple intelligences based on instructional
objectives;
• encouraging children to read more everyday to increase their vocabulary.
• bring children to museum, art exhibits and historical landmarks to white
and their perspective about the world and people, and.
• lessening children's screen time and increasing the personal and face to
face interaction. 6
Socio- Emotional
Development of
primary schoolers
7
The developmental theorist, Erik Erikson, formulated
eight stages of man's psychological development. Each
stage is regarded as a "phycological crisis" which
arises and demands resolution before the next stage
can be achieved.
preschool children belong to the fourth stage of
erikson's psychological stages. Here, children have to
resolve the issue on industry versus inferiority.
8
Erik Erikson's fourth stage of psychological
development
Industry vs inferiority is the psychosocial crisis that children
will have to resolve in this stage. INDUSTRY refers to a child's
involvement in situation where long, patient work in demand
of them, while INFERIORITY is the feeling created when a
child gets a feeling i'll feel you when they cannot finish on
master their school work.
9
Understanding the Self
Oneself concept is the knowledge about the self, such as beliefs regarding
personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals and
roles.
It also involves a sense of belonging and acceptance, a sense of good and
sense of being capable of doing good.
Primary school children self concept is influenced not only by
their parents, but also made the growing numbers of people
they begin to interact with, including teachers and classmates.
Children have growing understanding of their place in the
world. 10
School Years
In the transition from three elementary to primary school, children tend to
become increasingly self confident unable to cope with social interaction.
they are not focused on themselves anymore but are also aware of the
needs and and desires of others the issue of fairness and equality become
important to them as they learn to care for people who are not part of their
families.
BUILDING FRIENDSHIPS
Making friend is crucial but very important part of
children's social and emotional growth as soon as they
are able to walk and talk, they will tend to show
natural inclination to be around other children. 11
Children, during the stage, most likely to a
peer group. PEER GROUPS are characterized
by children who belong approximately to the
same age group it is found along the stages of
childhood through adolescence.
Primary school children prefer to belong to peer
groups on the same gender. Mini will use their
surroundings to observe and mingle with other
children. Samuel c this as an opportunity to make
friends while others remains a bit of a loner. 12
Antisocial Behavior
Some adults may perceive that some children's behavior
towards other children as antisocial. When children
puke, pull, hit, or kick other children when they are first
introduced, it is fairly normal
Parents and teachers can help children make you can consider this following:
•expose the children to kid rich environments (e g. Playground,park)
•create a play group in your class and let the children mingle with their
classmates.
•when your children hit other children, remind them that their behavior hurts
others.
• coordinate with the parents and other teachers so that the children will 13
have either opportunity to interact with other children.
SELF CONTROL
Once children which school age, they begin to
take pride in their ability to do things and their
capacity to exert effort. They like receiving
positive feedback from the parents and teacher.
This becomes a great opportunity for parent and
teachers to encourage positive emotional
responses from children by acknowledging their
mature, compassionate behaviors.
Implication to child care, education and parenting
Primary school children's social emotional competencies should be viewed in the
context of the child's developmental age. Healthcare providers, teachers and
parents should be able to:
• gain understanding of their child social emotional strength and weaknesses
by observing the child's behavior at home.
• where collaboratively with the child's parents and healthcare provider to
expand one's insight on the child's development.
•provide a supportive setting where children have opportunities to practice
emotional regulation the social skills with peers.
•be a role model of healthy emotions and expressing this emotion
appropriately.
• demonstrate kindness and staying in control of one's own feeling.
THANK YOU
