A comparative study of Piagetian and constructivist work on conceptions in science

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to discover whether Piaget's empirical work has been assimilated into subsequent studies, which are termed constructivist or as belonging to the ‘alternative conceptions movement’. To achieve this an extensive bibliographical review has been carried out of the ambit of both theories with reference to two topics: the notion of force and the particulate nature of matter. After completing a comparison it was observed that the majority of conceptions currently recognized were previously detected by Piaget. It is concluded, therefore, that Piaget's empirical data have been eclipsed for motives which are unjustified.