The Jean Piaget Society is an international learned society dedicated to studying

human knowledge Knowledge can be defined as Descriptive knowledge, awareness of facts or as Procedural knowledge, practical skills, and may also refer to Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called pro ...

from a

developmental Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitosi ...

perspective. It is named after the highly regarded developmental psychologist

Jean Piaget Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemolo ...

. Since 1989, its full name has been the Jean Piaget Society: Society for the Study of Knowledge and Development. It was established in 1970 by

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

professor Lois Macomber in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The Society is based in

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, Pennsylvania, and its current president is David Witherington. It sponsors a book series, an annual meeting, and the

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

ed journal ''

Human Development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body * Developmental psychology * Human development (economics) * Human Development Index, an index used to rank countries by level of human development * Human evolution Human evoluti ...

'', which is the Society's official journal. The book series, entitled the "Jean Piaget Symposium Series", is based on the Society's annual meetings. It was published by

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

for over thirty years.

Annual conferences

The occasion of our 50th anniversary provides a unique and timely opportunity to both celebrate the birth and history of the Jean Piaget Society and critically examine Piaget’s enduring contributions to contemporary developmental scholarship and practice. The 2021 conference focuses on constructivism, a foundational tenet of Piaget’s theory and the School of Geneva. Our invited program will explore both science and culture as active, transformative, historical processes and practices, with deep and far-reaching implications for understanding human development and knowledge: the processes and practices of science are woven into what is considered to be truth and knowledge, and what is valued with respect to how human development is studied and to what effect; those of culture—from daily routines to institutionalized practices (e.g., in education)—become tools with which developing individuals construct realities, knowledge, and value commensurate with personal and relational histories. An interdisciplinary cast of invited speakers will provide an overview of different constructivist approaches (including Vygotsky’s); address the relevance of constructivism to the burgeoning fields of epigenetics and neurodevelopment, with special reference to the longstanding nature-nurture controversy; critique the ongoing dialogue about constructivist education and policy; and explore implications of constructivism for understanding developmental diversities. The history of the Jean Piaget Society will be showcased in a variety of displays and special sessions during the first day of the virtual meeting.

Past presidents

Marilyn Appel, Terrance Brown, Nancy Budwig, Michael Chandler, Colette Daiute, Kurt Fischer, George Forman, Lynn Liben, Lois Macomber,

John A. Meacham John A. Meacham (October 4, 1944) is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at the University at Buffalo—the State University of New York. Meacham initiated the study of prospective memory, a research subject in cognitive psychology, in t ...

, John Mickelson, Frank Murray, Larry Nucci,

Willis Overton Willis Franklin Overton, Jr. is an American psychologist whose research is in the fields of clinical and developmental psychology. He is the Thaddeus L. Bolton Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Temple University, where he was the chair of the ...

(Honorary Member}, Barbara Presseisen (Honorary Member), Peter Pufall, Geoffrey Saxe, Ellin K. Scholnick, Irving Sigel,

Elliot Turiel Elliot Turiel (born 1938) is a United States born psychologist and Chancellor’s Professor at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. He teaches courses on human development and its relation to education. Educa ...

, David Witherington, Robert Wozniak, Phil Zelazo.

References

External links

* Organizations established in 1970 1970 establishments in Pennsylvania International professional associations Psychology organizations based in the United States Organizations based in Pennsylvania {{International-org-stub