The early years of life represent a critical developmental window, where the foundations for future learning, behaviour, and well-being are established. Early childhood education (ECE) must therefore be underpinned by theoretical knowledge that informs pedagogical decision-making and supports educators in meeting complex developmental needs. However, the use of theory in practice is not a matter of direct application; it demands integration, reflection, and critical engagement. Theoretical perspectives such as those offered by Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Bowlby continue to hold significant influence in shaping approaches to early learning and care. Yet rather than viewing these frameworks as discrete, their combined insights are most effective when critically examined in relation to the interwoven developmental outcomes educators are tasked with supporting—particularly communication and language, personal, social and emotional development (PSED), and physical development.
Across early years curricula, including the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in England, a strong emphasis is placed on learning through play, active exploration, and responsive interaction (DfE, 2021). These priorities echo the constructivist legacy of Piaget, whose work foregrounded the child as an autonomous learner engaged in active meaning-making (Piaget, 1952). His theory of cognitive development suggested that children move through universal stages, each defined by distinctive ways of thinking. While this framework has offered a foundation for developmentally appropriate practice, its rigidity is increasingly challenged by educators who encounter children whose abilities transcend expected stages. For example, a four-year-old may demonstrate symbolic representation or logical reasoning that Piaget would have attributed to an older developmental phase. Rather than strictly adhering to stage-based assumptions, effective practice today involves a more fluid, observation-led approach that sees development as non-linear and highly individualised.
This variability among children aligns more closely with Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), where learning is seen as the product of mediated interaction between the child and more knowledgeable others (Vygotsky, 1978). The ZPD invites educators to move beyond standardised expectations and toward personalised scaffolding—adjusting support in response to the child’s current level of competence. For instance, in supporting communication and language development, educators often engage in sustained shared thinking, modelling vocabulary and expanding on children’s utterances in real time. This kind of dynamic, reciprocal dialogue enables children to internalise language as both a communicative and cognitive tool. It also illustrates how Piagetian notions of self-directed discovery can be enriched by the Vygotskian understanding of learning as inherently social.
However, even optimal scaffolding cannot take root in the absence of secure emotional foundations. Bowlby’s attachment theory (1969) reinforces the importance of consistent, sensitive adult-child relationships as a precondition for exploration and learning. The concept of a “secure base” is particularly relevant in the context of transitions, peer relationships, and the development of emotional regulation—core elements of the PSED outcomes. Children who lack relational security often display withdrawal, behavioural dysregulation, or anxiety in learning situations. In such cases, the educator’s role involves more than instruction; it requires attunement, emotional availability, and the capacity to co-regulate. These relational competencies are often under-theorised in mainstream discussions of pedagogy, yet they are critical to ensuring that the learning environment supports the child holistically.
What becomes clear when examining early years practice through these theoretical lenses is that learning outcomes are never achieved in isolation. For example, developing fine motor control in a mark-making activity might appear to address physical development, but it also relies on emotional security (to encourage risk-taking), social engagement (as children draw together or discuss their marks), and cognitive challenge (planning, pattern recognition, and spatial reasoning). Here, Piaget’s constructivism helps interpret the child’s internal processing; Vygotsky’s ZPD explains the role of peer collaboration or adult intervention; and Bowlby’s framework reminds educators of the conditions under which such exploration becomes possible.
Critically, all three theorists offer different but intersecting views on the role of the adult. Piaget’s view often sidelines adult input in favour of child-led exploration, whereas Vygotsky centralises adult mediation in the learning process. Bowlby, in turn, elevates the adult’s emotional presence as key to developmental security. Contemporary early educators must navigate this complexity in practice. Consider the scenario of a child building a structure with blocks. A Piagetian approach might advocate for non-intervention to allow independent problem-solving. A Vygotskian-informed practitioner may join in, posing questions or modelling techniques to support development within the ZPD. A Bowlby-informed perspective would focus on whether the child feels emotionally safe and confident enough to take the risk of building something unstable, or to experience its collapse without distress. All three frameworks matter—but they must be interpreted contextually, not mechanically.
This intersection of emotional, cognitive, and social development has important implications for inclusivity and equity in the early years. Attachment theory, while valuable, has been critiqued for its initial emphasis on a singular, biologically-rooted caregiver relationship—an assumption that may not align with diverse cultural or family contexts (Rothbaum et al., 2000). In practice, early years educators have expanded Bowlby’s ideas into a more relational pedagogy that sees attachment security as co-constructed across the setting, with multiple emotionally available adults providing stability. Likewise, while Piaget’s developmental stages have been criticised for their Eurocentric and decontextualised assumptions about learning trajectories, practitioners today are encouraged to incorporate more culturally responsive assessments that recognise the social and linguistic capital children bring with them. Vygotsky’s attention to language as a mediating tool supports this inclusive agenda, though his theory too has been interrogated for not fully accounting for children with speech and language delays or those developing across multiple languages.
In terms of reflection and professional judgement, Schön’s (1983) concept of the “reflective practitioner” becomes essential. Early educators frequently reflect on learning experiences not only after the fact (reflection-on-action) but during interaction (reflection-in-action), drawing on theoretical knowledge to assess what type of support is most appropriate at any given moment. A child who appears disengaged in a group activity, for example, may be cognitively capable (Piaget) but socially overwhelmed (Vygotsky) or emotionally dysregulated (Bowlby). Identifying the root of that disengagement requires a sophisticated form of pedagogical reasoning that combines theoretical frameworks with close observation and contextual understanding.
This integration of theory into reflective practice is also vital in managing group dynamics and environmental planning. Physical development activities such as outdoor climbing or obstacle courses, often associated with gross motor outcomes, also become rich opportunities for peer collaboration (scaffolded turn-taking), resilience-building (secure base for risk-taking), and spatial cognition. Similarly, storytime, a routine typically used to foster literacy, can support PSED through group identity, emotional regulation, and empathy. When educators intentionally plan for these multi-domain experiences, they draw implicitly and explicitly on the frameworks provided by learning theory, reinforcing the interdependence of developmental areas.
Despite their continued relevance, these theories cannot be viewed as complete or universally applicable. They were developed within particular historical, cultural, and disciplinary contexts, and their assumptions must be critically evaluated against the diversity and complexity of contemporary early years education. Nevertheless, what remains valuable is not the prescriptive application of any one theory, but their collective function as interpretive tools. Each provides a lens through which educators can understand behaviour, respond to learning needs, and create conditions for development that are secure, equitable, and challenging.
In conclusion, early learning theory offers more than a backdrop to practice—it functions as an active, dynamic part of the reflective decision-making process that supports meaningful outcomes across all areas of child development. When early educators move beyond isolated application and towards critical synthesis, theories such as those proposed by Piaget, Vygotsky and Bowlby cease to be abstract doctrines and become living frameworks. They inform, shape, and evolve with practice. To meet the learning outcomes set out in curricula such as the EYFS, and to ensure these outcomes are met in a developmentally and emotionally informed manner, theory must be embedded into pedagogy not through compliance, but through critical reflection, contextual responsiveness, and professional judgement.
References
Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment and Loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. London: Hogarth Press.
Department for Education (DfE) (2021) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2 [Accessed 16 April 2025].
Piaget, J. (1952) The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: International Universities Press.
Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J. R., Pott, M., Miyake, K. and Morelli, G. (2000) ‘Attachment and culture: Security in the United States and Japan’, American Psychologist, 55(10), pp. 1093–1104.
Schön, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wood, E. (2020) The Routledge Reader in Early Childhood Education. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
Dr M’s thoughts 