Hierarchical Theories of Development in Education and Psychology

The authors examine the much-touted hierarchical theories of development and argue that their underlying assumptions have not been adequately examined. One special concern is the claim that the order of stages of development must be invariant;another is the problem of clarifying the contribution that earlier stages make to succeeding stages. Reviewing the works of Piaget and Inhelder, Kohlberg,Jensen, Erikson, and Gagné, the authors maintain that it is unclear whether their theories are empirically or conceptually grounded. Because of such obscurities,they argue, a good many of the assumptions currently accepted in developmental psychology are dubious.