In this chapter, you are introduced to the ideas that children and adults are co-constructors of knowledge and partners in learning. This chapter explores different understandings and theoretical perspectives about what it means to learn, the relationship between learning and development, and the role of adults in children’s learning.
Some of the key ideas in this chapter include:
Humans and animals all use their senses to learn. However, language and other symbolic systems allow humans to pass along this learning to others and become members of a group with similar worldviews. Indigenous worldviews vary, but are based on Indigenous peoples’ relationships with the land and connections to living and non-living things. Traditional sources of knowledge have included folklore, myths, and stories. Indigenous knowledge relies on the teaching of elders and knowledge keepers and is local, holistic, and oral.Philosophy was a major source of knowledge for centuries and more recent theories have stemmed from these ideas. Philosophers have debated whether and knowledge is created and not discovered (Vico) and whether learning is a process of development or maturation over time (Plato) or occurs through contact with the environment (Aristotle). These philosophical traditions inform theories of child development and learning that have excluded non-Western and Indigenous ways of knowing.
A variety of theories inform our understanding of children’s learning and development. Piaget’s constructivist theory argues that children build knowledge inside the mind through interaction with objects and that children’s cognitive development progresses through four universal stages.This theory has been criticized due to the concept of readiness (adults wait for children to be ready), the idea of child-centredness, and the role of the teacher in simply observing.
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of learning contends that children construct knowledge during their social interactions with others and then internalize these understandings. Children develop higher mental functions with the support of mediators: both symbolic (signs and tools) and human (which recognizes the role more knowledgeable peers and adults play in helping children master different tools which are valued in the culture).He differentiated between everyday concepts which are developed through daily living activities in the home and community and spontaneous concepts which are learned in school settings. This theory has been criticized for not acknowledging the active role children play in co-constructing knowledge and for prioritizing scientific concepts such as literacy and math skills.
The idea of co-construction of knowledge between teacher and children originally comes from Vygotsky’s work on the relationship between individual and social processes (such as collaboration between teacher and child), the notion that development is led by instruction, the role of language and other symbolic tools (shared activity) and the relationship between every day and scientific concepts.Reggio Emilia schools exemplify sociocultural perspectives on learning in action in some respects, but also emphasize the agency of children as competent and powerful.
