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Common‐core Curriculum: a Piagetian conceptualisation
Author(s) -
Smith Leslie
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
british educational research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1469-3518
pISSN - 0141-1926
DOI - 10.1080/0141192860120105
Subject(s) - piaget's theory of cognitive development , psychology , competence (human resources) , cognition , centration , vocational education , cognitive development , curriculum , context (archaeology) , mathematics education , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , pedagogy , social psychology , paleontology , neuroscience , biology
Piaget's account of formal operational thinking and Further Education Unit proposals for a common‐core curriculum share twin assumptions: there are general abilities and such abilities are transferable. Piaget's account is reviewed and the commitment to both assumptions is shown. The family of six general abilities which underlie formal operational thinking is reviewed as well as six types of cognitive constraint which restrict the actual transfer of general ability. Criticisms of Piaget's account are evaluated and it is argued that Piaget's competence account is not primarily an account of cognitive performance. The implications of this interpretation for pre‐vocational education are considered, including the cognitive development of young people, instructional objectives, learning‐methods and assessment. The central conclusion is that Piaget's account is one intellectual resource which may be used in the context of pre‐vocational education.