Jean Piaget, from close observations of his own children and several other children, concluded that these, contrary to what was thought at the time, do not think like adults: certain skills have not yet been developed.
For him, moral values are built from the subject's interaction with the various social environments and will be during daily life, especially with the adult, she will build her values, principles and norms morals. Therefore, we can conclude that this process takes time.
For these interactions to take place, processes of internal organization and adaptation occur and this occurs in the interaction of processes called assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation schemes change according to the individual's stages of development and consist of in their attempt to solve situations based on their cognitive structures and previous knowledge. When contacting the news, they remove information considered relevant and, from there, there is a modification in the old mental structure to master the new object of knowledge, generating what Piaget calls accommodation.
Piaget also argues that the development of morality encompasses three phases, called:
- anomie (children up to 5 years old): generally speaking, morality does not apply, with standards of conduct being determined by basic needs. However, when the rules are obeyed, they are followed by habit and not an awareness of what is right or wrong. A baby who cries until he is fed is an example of this phase.
- heteronomy (Children up to 9, 10 years old): Compliance with the rule is correct and any interpretation other than this does not correspond to a correct attitude. A poor man who stole a drug from the pharmacy to save his wife's life is as wrong as one who murdered his wife, following heteronomic reasoning.
- autonomy: legitimation of the rules. Respect for rules is generated through mutual agreements. It is the last stage of moral development.
Knowing that children and adolescents follow more or less similar stages in terms of development moral, it is up to the educator to understand that there are certain ways to deal with different situations and different ranges age groups. It is also up to him to lead the child through the anomie-heteronomy transition, naturally moving towards his own moral and intellectual autonomy.
By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
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Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
ARAGUAIA, Mariana. "Piaget and moral development in children"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/piaget-desenvolvimento-moral-na-crianca.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.