Question

What does Piaget mean when he says development comes before development? What does Vygotsky mean when he says learning comes before development?

Answer 1

For Piaget cognitive development is a step by step process where a certain development is necessary to attain next level of cognitive development. For example- The Symbolic thinking of Preoperational stage is developed only after the object permanence of sensorimotor stage occurs, similarly, concrete thinking is a necessary development for abstract thinking. Thus, development comes before development.

Lev Vygotsky stressed on the importance of socio-cultural learning for cognitive development. According to him social learning comes before development. Higher mental processes of cognitive development are influenced by the socio-cultural environment of a child. Thus, cognitive development stems from the way social learning occurs in the child.