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John Locke
He believed that children are born as blank slates or "tabula rasa"
Marks the beginning of modern conception of the self -
Jean Rousseau
Believed that children are born naturally good
Children can be corrupted by parents and/or society
He argues that the progression of the sciences and art has caused the corruption of virtue and morality -
Johann Pestalozzi
Saw the importance of home education in the early years
Wrote "How Gertrude Teachers Her Children"
His method is to proceed from the easier to the more difficult
He did not believe in corporal punishment or rote memorization for instructional purposes
"The role of the educator is to teach children, not subjects." -
Friedrich Froebel
Founder of kindergarten
Promoted the value or play and believed that it was very important for teachers to be trained
He designed balls, wooden blocks, tiles, sticks and rings to demonstrate that children learn by playing -
Alfred Binet
Inventor of the first usable intelligence test the basis of today's IQ tests
His principal goal was to identify students who needed special help in coping with the school curriculum -
Sigmund Freud
Considered the "father of psychology"
Psychological develop-mentalist (psycho-social-develop-mentalist)
Psychological problems occur in adults when needs are not adequately met at the various stages of childhood
Very controversial theorist
Focused on the importance of the first 5 years
Promoted the idea of the id, ego and superego -
Arnold Gesell
Established the normative theory
Believed children will develop according to how nature made them. Children are who they are when they are born.
Designed the observation dome -
Lev Vygotsky
Stressed the importance of a child's cultural background as an effect to the stage of development. Different cultures stress different social interactions.
Promoted scaffolding in the early childhood classroom
Believed in the Zone of Proximal Development
The ZPD is the difference between what a learner can without help and what he or she can do with help. It is a concept introduced, yet not fully developed, by Vygotsky during the last ten years of his life -
Lawrence Kohlberg
Children's moral development begins with a desire to avoid punishment and proceeds to the developmental of ethical principles
Inspired by the work of Jean Piaget and a fascination with children's reactions to moral dilemmas -
Maria Montessori
Children develop at their own pace and gain knowledge by actively using their senses
Established the use of child sized furniture
Emphasized learning practical skills such as cleaning and caring for self
Children are encouraged to work through the steps of assignments independently, charting their course of learning
She observed that children were bored, not unruly -
Jean Piaget
Children's intellectual development proceeds through stages, as they adapt to the physical environment
Believed in self-exploration without interference from teachers
Children develop in 4 stages. Each stage is characterized by a general cognitive structure that affects all the child's thinking.
Sensorimotor Stage (infancy)
Pre-operational Stage (toddler and early childhood)
Concrete Operational Stage (elementary and early adolescence)
Formal Operational Stage (adolescence and adulthood) -
Erik Erikson
Social/emotional theorist divided development into 8 stages
Personality develops according to how a person responds to psychological crises at certain stages of life.
1. trust vs. mistrust (infancy)
2.autonomy vs. shame (early childhood)
3.initiative vs. guilt (play age)
4.industry vs. inferiority (school age)
5.ego identity vs. role confusion (adolescence)
6.intimacy vs. isolation (young adult)
7.generativity vs. stagnation (adulthood)
8.ego integrity vs. despair (maturity) -
John Bowlby
The learning/behaviorist theory of attachment suggest that attachment is a set of learned behaviors
The basis for the learning of attachments is the provision of food. Children initially get attached to whoever feeds them. -
Benjamin Bloom
Bloom exercised considerable influence in academic educational psychology. His main contribution to the area of education involved mastery-learning, his model of talent-developmental and his Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the cognitive domain
Mastery learning maintains that students must achieve a level or mastery in prerequisite knowledge before moving forward to learn subsequent information -
B.F. Skinner
Social develop-mentalist coined the term, operant conditioning
Studied behavior modification using positive and negative reinforcement
Behavior continues or ceases according to whether it is rewarded or punished