Theories of Childhood, Second Edition (Carol Garhart Mooney) / quote 62 of 70
Knowledge is social as well as personal
For years, early educators, schooled in Piaget’s theories, viewed children’s knowledge as being constructed from personal experiences. Although Vygotsky also believed this, he thought that personal and social experience cannot be separated. The world children inhabit is shaped by their families, communities, socioeconomic status, education, and culture. Their understanding of this world comes, in part, from the values and beliefs of the adults and other children in their lives.