1.

0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Jean Piaget

Jean William Fritz Piaget (Jean Piaget) was Swiss psychologist who has

developed the theory of cognitive development. He was born on August 9, 1896 in

Neuchatel, Switzerland and died September 17, 1980. He was an influential

experimenter and theorist in the field of developmental psychology and in the study

of human intelligence. Having a father who worked as literature writer, Piaget learned

from his father the value of systematic work. His mother suffered neurotic

temperament which has triggered Piaget’s interest in psychology especially in

psychoanalysis and pathological psychology. Other than that, Piaget also has the

Swiss scholar Samuel Cornut as his godfather who has influence him in philosophy

and epistemology during his adolescence. Piaget was a brilliant scholar who has

published his first paper at the age of 10 and when he was 22 he already received

his Ph.D from University of Neuchatel. He has studied in many fields before he

realized his real interest which was in the field of inductive and experimental

psychology.

In 1925, Piaget then took the chair of philosophy at the University of Neuchatel

to teach psychology, philosophy, science, a philosophy seminar, and sociology. At

the same time, his first daughter was born followed by his second daughter in 1927

and a son in 1931. He spent his time with his children and at the same time

observing their developmental growth. By doing this he was able to understand the

development stages that happened in a child. With the help from his wife and

children, he was able to learned about this developmental stages in the most direct

way no just a theory-based study but more likely to be in a very practical way of

observing the different stages of growth. Piaget was interested in the thought

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processes that underlie reasoning. From this, he observed children of various ages

and introduced the Stages of Cognitive Development which then become the basic

reference in differentiating the educational system according to the children

development stages. Piaget developed a stage theory of intellectual development

that included four distinct stages: the sensorimotor stage, from birth to age 2; the

preoperational stage, from age 2 to about age 7; the concrete operational stage, from

age 7 to 11; and the formal operational stage, which begins in adolescence and

spans into adulthood. His theory of development is still used throughout the world

until now including in Malaysia.

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2.0 PIAGET’S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL GROWTH

According to Jean Piaget, children progress through a series of four key

stages of cognitive development marked by shifts in how they understand the world.

Piaget believed that children are like "little scientists" and that they actively try to

explore and make sense of the world around them. The Piaget stages of

development are a blueprint that describes the stages of normal intellectual

development, from infancy through adulthood. This includes thought, judgment, and

knowledge. The stages were named after psychologist and developmental biologist

Jean Piaget, who recorded the intellectual development and abilities of infants,

children, and teens.

2.1 Sensory Motor Stage

The first stage is the sensorimotor stage which is also known as the stage of

learning to represent the world internally. It starts from the 0 to 2 years old. During

this stage, infants only can recognize and aware of what is immediately in front of

them. Their ability is too limited and just starting to slowly develop. They can only

focus on what they see, what they are doing, and physical interactions with their

immediate environment. At this stage, kids tend to learn through experiments and

experiences. Since they not yet possess any information about their surrounding,

they will try and keep testing things by activities that enhance their motor skills such

as shaking or throwing things, putting things in their mouths. Kids would learn about

the world through trial and error.

During this stage, kids have not yet learned to use mental representations or images

to represent objects or events. Usually if an object is hidden from view, four-month-

olds will not try to search for it because to them when something is out of side, it will

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out of their mind. However, it is a little bit different with the eight or nine-month-olds

because they will attempt to search for the hidden object. They have

developed object permanence which means the understanding that objects continue

to exist even after they are no longer seen. It is also give the meaning that their

memories are developing. After infants start crawling, standing, and walking, their

increased physical mobility leads to increased cognitive development. Near the end

of the sensorimotor stage, infants reach another important milestone which is the

early language development, a sign that they are developing some symbolic abilities.

2.2 Preoperational Stage

The second stage is the preoperational stage or the growth of symbolic

activities. This stage starts from 2-6 or 7 years old. During this stage, young children

are able to think about things symbolically. Usually during this stage kids has started

to develop the ability to form mental representations of objects and events. The

verbal ability or the language will also develop as does the beginning of thinking in

words. It is believed that these developments are the marking of the end for the

sensorimotor period and the start of the preoperational stage. Kids will be able to use

language more mature ways with larger range of vocabulary. They also have

developed memory and imagination, which allows them to understand the difference

between past and future, and engage in make-believe. However their thinking is

based on intuition and still not completely logical.

During this stage, kids are still considered as immature. This is because, according to

Piaget, kids are believed to be egocentric which means, they have difficulty

understanding that other people may perceive the world differently. They think that

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the world revolved around them and their opinion will be the right one since they are

seeing things in their own point of view and believe in that view.

Kids in this stage still have lack understanding in relational terms. For

example, they are not able to differentiate and understand darker, larger, and harder.

Other than that, they are also lack in the ability to arrange objects in order from large

to small. Finally, they are also lack in conservation; the understanding that the

physical attributes of an object remain unchanged even though their appearance has

changes as in how water can change its shape according to its container’s shape.

2.3 Concrete Operational Stage

The concrete operational stage is the third stage which indicates the

emergence of logical thought. Usually at the age of 7 to 11 or 12, kids will start to

demonstrate logical and concrete reasoning. During this stage, there will be many

important cognitive skills emerge. At this stage kids are usually start to realize the

difference in one’s thought and feelings. They starts to accept others opinion. Other

than that, kids will start to develop operational thinking which the ability to perform

reversible mental actions. They come to understand reversibility -the fact that many

physical changes can be undone by reversing the original action.

They also begin to make greater use of categories in describing and thinking about

the physical world. Thus, if asked to sort various objects, four-year-olds will often do

so in terms of color or size. Older children place objects in more complex categories,

those which take account of several features at once. For example, they will

categorize bananas, oranges, apples, and pineapples as fruits, despite major

variations in color, shape, and size. Finally, when children reach the stage of

concrete operations, they begin to engage in contextualized or logical thought. they

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will also be able to understand the concept of conservation. Conservation is the

major acquisition of the concrete operational stage. Piaget defines conservation as

the ability to see that objects or quantities remain the same despite a change in their

physical appearance. Children learn to conserve such quantities as number,

substance (mass), area, weight, and volume; though they may not achieve all

concepts at the same time. During this stage, however, most children still cannot

tackle a problem with several variables in a systematic way.

2.4 Formal Operational Stage

The last stage introduced by Piaget is the formal operational stage. During this

stage, teenagers about 13 years old until adolescence are involved. During this time,

major features of adult thought appear. This may have to do with changes in frontal

lobe function by this age. They will start to deal with abstraction as well as concrete

and reality. Adolescents who reach this fourth stage of intellectual development are

able to logically use symbols related to abstract concepts, such as algebra and

science. They can think about multiple variables in systematic ways, formulate

hypotheses, and consider possibilities. They also can ponder abstract relationships

and concepts such as justice. Compare to the previous stage where kids can only

think logically about concrete events and objects, adolescence can think abstractly.

They can deal not only with the real, or concrete, but also with possibilities about

potential events or relationships that do not exist but can be imagined even though

they have no past experience of that particular event. As a result, they are able to

create doubt and having assumption.

During this final stage of cognitive development, they will become capable

of making hypothetical-deductive reasoning. If they faced any problem they will be

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able to formulate a general theory that includes all possible factors. They will be able

to reason deductively to formulate specific hypotheses, which can then be tested by

examining existing evidence (or acquiring new evidence). Individuals who reach the

stage of formal operations use propositional reasoning. They assess the logical

validity of verbal statements, even when those refer to possible events rather than to

real events in the world (P.F. Ballantyne, 2006).

Although Piaget believed in lifelong intellectual development, he insisted that

the formal operational stage is the final stage of cognitive development, and that

continued intellectual development in adults depends on the accumulation of

knowledge. . While this reasoning may be logical, the theories are often naive,

because the individuals who construct them do not consider adequately the

consequences in real life. The development is actually a life-time learning process

and it depends on the individual ability to develop according to their rate of

developmental growth.

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3.0 APPLICATION IN MALAYSIA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM

The cognitive development stages suggested by Jean Piaget has make him

became one of the top pioneer in education history. His theory of cognitive

development has been used for centuries and still being used until today. The

effectiveness of the stages is compromised and believed to be among the best

theories that have been introduced. Other than being used around Europe countries,

his theory is also being used in Malaysia. However, there are a few slight changes

that have been made to make sure that the system created according to Piaget’s

theory can suit our students. As far that we concern, in Malaysia there are also

stages used to differentiate the different level of education given to the civilians. We

can see that in our country, the education system is differentiate into 5 levels which is

the first stage is the nursery level, the second stage is the kindergarten level, the third

stage is the primary level, the fourth stage is the secondary level and the last stage

would be the university level. We can see that in our country we have one stage extra

if compared with what has been proposed by Piaget. This was done to make the

stages more suitable with our difference in developmental growth and to make our

educational system more efficient.

3.1 Nursery / Taska

Long before this, in Malaysia we only provide the early education to kids

starting from 5 years old until 6 years old only. The stage provided is known as the

kindergarten stage. But then, when the awareness on the importance of starting the

education among kids in earlier period has arises, there are quite a number of private

nurseries established in our country. In Malaysia, the early nurseries only act as a

baby daycare center before and have nothing to do with educational matter. As the

awareness grows, there are some people who see the benefits and opportunities in

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making a normal baby daycare center into a school for very young learners. As we

can see in current situation, there are a huge numbers of nurseries that provide the

kids with knowledge according to their age. Some also used the method and theories

proposed by the other pioneers in early education such as Friedrich Froebel and

Maria Montessori.

Aware of these trend and importance of it, the government then came up with

the idea of PERMATA Negara’s Program on October, 24 2008. This program is said

to be the idea of Y.A.Bhg. Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah binti Mansor, the First Lady of

Malaysia. This program focused on providing an early childhood education to kids

around 4 years old and below. PERMATA Negara’s program has its own curriculum

which developed according to the National Educational Theory. The curriculum

stresses on not only the development of intellectual but also on the kids’

socioemotional and spiritual development. The aim of this program is to provide the

kids with a holistic educational program that can help them gain the experiences of

early childhood education and at the same time will produce kids with high

intellectual, patriotism, be able to appreciate the cultural diversity and practicing

healthy lifestyle.

At the PERMATA Negara’s program, kids will be able to learn through

experience and experiments. This is because, at the nursery, these kids will learn

while playing. The concept use in the teaching methodology is play and learns. They

believe that kids will learn better through playing since they are enjoying themselves.

This also helps to instill the fact that learning is a fun process and it is not stressful in

the kids’ minds. The PERMATA curriculum consists of 6 modules which are set

according to the kids’ age. The module is divided according to 6-12 months, 1-2

years old, 2-3 years old, 3-4 years old and an addition module for 4 years old kids

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with an advance cognitive development. Kids will have the opportunity to mix with

their friends and develop their social and verbal skills. The kids will also learn how to

take care of themselves and be prepared physically and mentally for the next stage

of education which is the kindergarten stage.

3.2 Kindergarten / Tadika

Kindergarten in Malaysia which is also known as the preschool stage is a

stage established to give the kids an early view of formal school. This stage is

considered as a preparatory stage for the kids before they enroll in the formal

educational system, the primary school. Usually the curriculum used in the preschool

is not that much different from the curriculum used in the nursery. However, it is more

advance that the curriculum used by the nursery since these kids need to be able to

read and write as they finished the preschool. In Malaysia we have Tadika KEMAS,

Tadika Perpaduan and a few more which belong to the government and many more

which established by the NGOs and private.

According to Sugimoto (2005) and Tejima (2006) as cited in Akiko Kamogawa

(2010), preschool education in Malaysia is positioned as the preparatory stage for

primary education. As such, while preparing children for primary education, the

curriculum of early childhood education promotes national unification among ethnic

groups. For example, although the significance of learning English from an early age

is emphasized, the ability to communicate in the official language of Malay is also

given importance. At the same time, consideration is also given to the languages

other than Malay that are spoken by non-Malays. Moreover, the practice of Islamic

and other moral values is also important. In this respect, the preschool curriculum is

organized to develop competent human resources with the dual aims of uniting the

Malaysian people and promoting economic development.

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 3.3 Primary School

Primary school is provided for 7 to 12 years old kids. This stage consists of 6

years of learning process which is divided into two levels. Level 1 consists of the first

two years start from standard 1 until standard 3. While the second stage which is

level 2 consist of the last three years including standard 4 until standard 6. In

Malaysia, the curriculum used for the primary school is known as Kurikulum

Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR) and also known as New Primary School

Curriculum. It adopts a double-pronged approach to satisfy the educational

requirements of the Malaysian school-going child which is to raise the literacy level of

the pupil and to develop their cognitive and thinking skills. By this means, it hopes to

provide students with all-rounded individual development which will help him operate

efficiently within the social structure of this country.

At this level, students’ education is more stressed on the basic skills in

learning. These skills are known as the 3M which includes reading (membaca),

writing (menulis) and lastly arithmetic (mengira). Other than focusing on the 3M, the

curriculum also emphasizes on the individual development that consists of physical

(jasmani), emotion (emosi), spiritual (rohani), intellectual (intelek) and social (social).

These developments are also known as JERIS which act as a guideline in educating

students. The main purpose of KBSR is to produce well rounded students who are

balance in academic, skills, moral and etiquette.

The KBSR is rooted in sound educational theories, but it depends for its

success to a very large extent, on a trained, dedicated and hard working teaching-

force which needs massive support from the administrative and bureaucratic

machinery that surrounds it. Teachers should be trained to create materials and

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activities that exploit the KBSR methodology. Also, the authorities concerned should

come up with measures that would act as hurdle-breakers and incentives.

3.4 Secondary Schools

The secondary schools in Malaysia provide a new level of education for

students. Secondary schools in Malaysia are open for students from the age of 13

until the age of 17. Students need to complete the whole 5 years of secondary

education before they can continue their study in the higher educational system as in

the university level. It is almost the same as in the primary schools where it is divided

by two stages. The first stage is from form 1 until form 3 and the second stage is from

form 4 until form 5. The first level is known as lower form while the second level is the

higher form. The curriculum used for Malaysian secondary education system is

known Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM).

KBSM focuses on the individual potential development in a holistic, balanced

and unified way. Therefore the content of KBSM includes knowledge and the practice

of moral values, humanity and social as the basic of life-long education. It does not

stress only on the subject-matter and the ability of students to understand the

academic only but also trigger the students to be able to behave well and possess

good etiquette and behavior. The secondary school phase is a continuation of the

learning process from the primary school. Therefore, the purpose of secondary

school is to take the knowledge that has been learnt by students during their primary

school to a higher level of understanding and to make it more practical rather than

just a theory-based knowledge. At this level, students are triggered to think in a more

objective and abstract ways. Here, they will start to develop higher ability to question

and to get involved in an argument. During the secondary school, especially in the

higher form, students will start to learn in a more mature way and they will start to

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learn something more complicated compared to what they learnt during the lower

form. These separation in forms helps students to adjust and adapt to the changes in

the learning process exist in secondary school and how it is differ to what they have

been exposed during the primary school.

3.5 Tertiary Level

The next level of education in Malaysia is the tertiary level. This level can be

divided into a few more levels. The tertiary education level in Malaysia is controlled

by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) whilst both primary and secondary

schools are controlled by the Ministry of Education. This stage can be divided into a

few levels such as diploma level which is at the same level as STPM, matriculation

and the foundation programs. Diploma, matriculation and foundation levels can be

found in university while STPM level (pre-university) can be found in secondary

schools. After they finished this level, they will then precede their study to higher

levels which are bachelor degree, master and doctorate. Students, who have finished

their secondary school and have taken their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), can

continue their study either to the higher level. One of the choices is the form 6 which

will take up 2 years of studying period.

During this level, students are prepared for their future job. They can choose

which field they are interested in and then continue their study on that particular field.

The higher education system is developed to ensure that the public universities

(IPTAs) are capable of producing students with high reputation in academic

achievement, competitive with the ability to predict the future challenges and ready to

act effectively along with global development.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development highlights on the importance of

early childhood education. Other than that, it also emphasizes on the different levels

of cognitive development and how it can influence the efficiency of the educational

system used. Piaget’s cognitive psychology connected with the children’s ability to

think and to reason with the teaching and learning in schools. His cognitive theory

helps in constructing the best educational system in a lot of countries around the

world.

As we can see in our own country Malaysia, we have implemented the

educational system according to certain stages. It is actually according to Piaget’s

theory of cognitive development but it has already been adjusted to suits the current

educational development. Other than Piaget’s theory, our country also refers to many

other educational pioneers like Maria Montessori, John Dewey, Gardner’s theory of

difference in intelligent and many more.

Here, we can see that the educational level should be based on the students’

ability to absorb the knowledge and therefore they should not be force to learn

something that is way beyond their ability. This is because, it may lead to stress and

they will see education as a stressful thing instead something enjoyable to be done.

Piaget stress more on the early level of education because at this stage, we can

create a memory of learning is something that should be enjoyed. He also

emphasizes more on this stage because the education should starts at the early age

since kids is way easier to be shaped.

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5.0 REFERENCES

i. Benaroch, R. (2012). Piaget Stages of Development. Retrieved on June 21,

2014 from http://www.webmd.com/children/piaget-stages-of-development
ii. Ballantyne, P. F. (2006). Piaget’s Theory: An Overview. Retrieved on June 21,
2014 from http://www.igs.net/~pballan/Piaget(Stages).htm
iii. McLeod, S. A. (2009). Jean Piaget. Retrieved on June 21, 2014 from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
iv. Kendra, C. (n.d.). Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development. Retrieved on
June 21, 2014 from
http://psychology.about.com/od/piagetstheory/a/keyconcepts.htm
v. Smith, L. (2000). A Brief Biography of Jean Piaget. Retrieved on June 21,
2014 from http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html
vi. Ministry of Higher Education. (2009). Malaysia Education: Education System
of Malaysia. Retrieved on June 22, 2014 from
http://www.mohe.gov.my/educationmsia/education.php?article=system
vii. Kamogawa, A. (2010). Early Childhood Education in Malaysia: A Comparison
with Japan. Retrieved on June 22, 2014 from
http://www.childresearch.net/projects/ecec/2010_05.html
viii. Mohd Fadzil Abdul Hanid. (2011). KBSR & KBSM. Retrieved on June 22, 2014
from http://fadzilmahasiswa.blogspot.com/2011/12/kbsr-kbsm-berdasarkan-
laporan.html
ix. Aisyah Sulaiman. (2013). Making Our Children World-class. Retrieved on
June 22, 2014 from http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/making-our-
children-world-class-1.309339#ixzz2XXoFjaPS
x. Zainudin Abdul Razak. (2012). Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah.
Retrieved on June 22, 2014 from
http://1kimia.blogspot.com/2013/05/kurikulum-bersepadu-sekolah-
menengah.html

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