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Psychology of education has long held a place in the curriculum for training teachers but what implications can psychological theory legitimately have for educational practice? In this book the author makes a direct attack on the current role of psychology in education, showing important differences between psychologists’ and educators’ interests in topics such as learning, motivation and development, and questioning the validity of many of Piaget’s most fundamental ideas. He compares two developmental theories that superficially have much in common – Plato’s and Piaget’s – and focuses on their implications for learning in the classroom. He shows why Plato’s theory (whether or not we agree with it) serves as a model of a useful educational theory and why Piaget’s theory has no implications for education. He reaches the conclusion that psychological theories and research based on them are irrelevant to educational practice.
E-Book Content
ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: EDUCATION
EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGY
EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGY Plato, Piaget and Scientific Psychology
KIERAN EGAN
Volume 60
First published in 1983 This edition first published in 2012 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1983 Teachers College, Columbia University All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 13: 978-0-415-61517-4 (Set) ISBN 13: 978-0-415-67855-1 (Volume 60) Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION
1/ Education and Psychology: A Sense of Differences
vii
ix
1
21 Plato's Developmental Theory
25
3/ Piaget's Developmental Theory
56
41 Educationally Useful Theories
107
5/ Psychology and Education
125
Conclusion
178
NOTES
185
INDEX
206
Acknowledgments
I HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE TO THANK FOR HELP IN THE WRITING
of this book. Indeed, I have so many and so kind and such intelligent people to thank that it is a wonder that the book is not so much better. First, and most warmly, I thank members of the Instructional Psychology Research Group at Simon Fraser University. Jack Martin, Phil Winne, Ron Marx, and Roger Gehlbach have given me enormous help, criticism, abuse, and encouragement in writing this book. It is a great pleasure to thank publicly first and foremost people who are likely to disagree with the general argument of the book more strongly than almost any other readers-an empirical claim that may well be disconfirmed in the near future. Suzanne de Castell, Cornel Hamm, and Tasos Kazepides have been most generous in giving their time and philosophic criticisms. Gloria Sampson, Jaap Tuinman, and Dianne Common have kindly and critically read