A Swiss psychologist known for his work in the field of child development. As Director of the International Bureau of Education, Piaget—who stated in 1934 that “only education can save our societies from a possible collapse”—placed great importance on children’s education. His theories on child development play a significant role in academic programs for early childhood education.
Jean Piaget was a major pioneer of the constructivist approach. His ideas did not gain widespread popularity until the 1960s. These ideas subsequently formed an important subdiscipline of psychology known as developmental psychology. By the end of the 20th century, Piaget had become the second most-cited psychologist of his time, after B.F. Skinner.
He was born on August 9, 1896, in Neuchâtel. In 1918, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Neuchâtel. In 1921, he began his research in child psychology. He was appointed to a professorship at the University of Geneva in 1929. In 1940, he became director of the Psychology Laboratory. That same year, he became president of the Swiss Psychological Society. He founded and directed the International Center for Epistemology in Geneva in 1955. In 1972, he received the Erasmus Prize. Toward the end of his life, in 1977, a film titled *Piaget on Piaget*—in which he discussed his own work and the epistemology of his theory—was produced at his request and in collaboration with the University of Cambridge. He died in Geneva on September 16, 1980.