Sociocultural Theory Of Cognitive Development

Sociocultural theory argues that learning is a social process and the beginning of human intelligence in society and culture. The theme of the theory is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky believed everything is learned on two levels, first on a social level and later the child (Vygotsky 1978) .Social interaction plays a big role in the development of a child’s cognition functions and the key to understanding it is the “ZPD” zone of proximal development. The ZPD includes all the knowledge and skills that a child cannot yet understand or perform on their own but is capable of learning with help and guidance from an adult. As children grow their skills their knowledge grows by observing someone

A warm caring relationship needs to have developed between the two to support learning. The theory Linked educational and emotional development as one. (Smith, A. 2013) Another important term used within the theory is Scaffolding, this refers to the help and guidance given to the child by the teacher.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. His theory focuses on understanding how children acquire knowledge, and on understanding the nature of intelligence. (Kathleen 2000) the theory explained the changes in logical thinking of children. Cognitive theory’s focuses on the structure and development of a person’s thought processes; it focuses on not only how children gather the information but also understanding how it has been

Brining community into ECE education introduces children to a larger family this provides extra scaffolding and the teacher role is utilizing this. Following the principals, we see the strands Wellbeing –belonging-contribution-communication-exploration. If we are to explore the strands, we will see That the curriculum believes being a bicultural country strengthens the delivery and depth of educational practice. Its opens opportunities for conversation and examination. For example, In Te whariki under exploration it states “children have opportunity to develop and explore social concepts rules and understanding in social context with familiar adults and peers” Sociocultural theory highlights that children learn in small groups and children can attain a higher level of development with assistance from adults as they have knowledge to share. Sociocultural perspective suggests that children encounter a variety of literacies and literacy practices from the different communities of which they are a part (Jones Diaz,