Usefulness of Piagetian Theory in Formulating a Preschool Program for Black Children

Abstract

Present early education literature suggests that a structured, cognition-based preschool program emphasizing linguistic and conceptual skills will enable the culturally disadvantaged Black child to better achieve in public school.' This suggestion, if taken literally, however, is diametrically opposed to the unique needs of the young Black child. A step in the right direction will have interested and concerned educators utilizing Piagetian theory as a more viable base from which to construct a preschool program relevant to the Black child. It is extremely important to note that Piaget's work has reaffirmed the oft-forgotten idea of the child's reality differing greatly from that of the Piaget has amply demonstrated that the child is not a little adult. Through an intriguing series of experiments, he has mapped the course of human intellectual development. Piagetian theory divides intellectual development into four major periods: sensorimotor (birth to 2 years); preoperational (2 to 7 years); concrete operational (7 to 11 years); and formal operational (11 years and beyond). Defining intelligence in terms of content, structure, and function, Piaget's experiments are documented examples of the child's qualitatively different reality.