Children's Minds

by M Donaldson (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1979

  $3.23

  Developmental psychologist Margaret Donaldson shows that much of the intellectual framework on which we base our teaching is misleading. We both underestimate the astonishing rational powers of young children and ignore the major stumbling block that children face when starting school. Given a setting and a language that makes sense to them in human terms, very young children can perform tasks often thought to be beyond them. The preschool child learns everything in a human situation. Only in school is he asked to acquire skills-reading, writing, arithmetic-isolated from a real-life context. This transition is difficult. The author suggests a range of strategies that parents and schools can adopt to help children. She argues that reading is even more important than we have thought it to be, since learning to read ca actually speed children through the crucial transition. This book is an essential source of guidance for parents and all who contribute to a child's education.

• Used

  Paperback
  1984

  $3.23

• New

  Paperback
  1986

  $11.40

  Margaret Donaldson's seminal work on child development, first published in 1978, has become a classic inquiry into the nature of human thought. In this concise and brilliantly readable book, Margaret Donaldson shows that context is key when it comes to the development of language and thought, and how the right support can ensure children are skilled in these areas before they even start school. She revisits earlier theories of child development, notably those of Jean Piaget, to expose flaws in the accepted wisdom on child psychology and to suggest a range of new strategies to help children combat difficulties. As wise and perceptive today as it was when it first appeared, Margaret Donaldson's bestselling work is essential reading for anyone interested in child development and child psychology.