Jean Piaget Timeline

In 1919, Piaget was hired by Théodore Simon to standardize psychometric measures for use with French children. This work sparked his deep interest in how children think and reason, setting him on the path toward his theory of cognitive development.

Shortly before his death, Piaget was involved in a debate about the relationships between innate and acquired features of language, at the Centre Royaumont pour une Science de l'Homme, discussing his point of view with linguist Noam Chomsky as well as Hilary Putnam and Stephen Toulmin. The debate was later published as Language and Learning (Harvard University Press, 1980).

Piaget's La Représentation du monde chez l'enfant, published in 1926, examined how young children understand the world around them, contributing to his growing reputation as a leading figure in developmental psychology.

Judgment and Reasoning in the Child was published in 1928 by Harcourt, Brace and Company, further documenting Piaget's investigations into children's logic and moral reasoning through interviews and observation.

Piaget's book The Moral Judgment of the Child, published in 1932, was radical for two reasons: his use of philosophical criteria to define morality (as universalizable, generalizable, and obligatory) and his rejection of equating cultural norms with moral norms. It held that children construct their own moral world views.

Image source: Moral psychology

As Director of the International Bureau of Education, Piaget declared in 1934 that "only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual", reflecting his conviction that education was central to social progress.

Published in French in 1936, La naissance de l'intelligence chez l'enfant (translated as The Origins of Intelligence in Children, New York: International University Press, 1952) detailed Piaget's observations of infant sensorimotor development.

Piaget's La genèse du nombre chez l'enfant (1941), translated as The Child's Conception of Number (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1952), explored how children develop an understanding of number and quantity.

La formation du symbole chez l'enfant; imitation, jeu et reve, image et représentation was published in 1945 and later translated as Play, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood (New York: Norton, 1962), examining symbolic play and imitation in children.

La psychologie de l'intelligence (1947), translated as The Psychology of Intelligence (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1950), presented a systematic overview of Piaget's theory of intelligence as active adaptation to the environment.

Piaget's L'épistémologie génétique (1950), later translated as The Principles of Genetic Epistemology (New York: Basic Books, 1972), laid out his central project: studying the origins and development of knowledge itself.

Written with Bärbel Inhelder, De la logique de l'enfant à la logique de l'adolescent (1955) was translated as The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence (New York: Basic Books, 1958), charting the transition to formal operational thought.

Child's Conception of Geometry was published in New York by Basic Books in 1960, translating La Géométrie spontanée de l'enfant (1948), Piaget's study of children's spontaneous geometric understanding.

Six études de psychologie (1964) was translated as Six psychological studies (New York: Random House, 1967), offering concise summaries of Piaget's key ideas across different stages of intellectual development.

Piaget's Le Structuralisme (1968), translated as Structuralism (New York: Harper & Row, 1970), examined structuralist thought across disciplines and its relationship to his own constructivist framework.

For his work, Piaget received an honorary doctorate from Harvard in 1936, one of many honors recognizing his groundbreaking contributions to psychology and education.

In 1972, Piaget was awarded the Erasmus Prize, recognizing his profound contributions to European culture, science, and education through his theories of cognitive development.

In 1979, Piaget received the Balzan Prize for Social and Political Sciences, honoring his transformative influence on the understanding of human development and learning.

By the end of the 20th century, Piaget ranked second only to B.F. Skinner among eminent psychologists, reflecting the enduring influence of his theory of cognitive development on psychology and education.

A 2016 systematic review of education research showed that constructivist approaches to early childhood education inspired by Piaget and Vygotsky are less effective than comprehensive approaches that incorporate direct skills teaching, prompting reassessment of his legacy in pedagogy.

Image source: Constructivism (philosophy of education)