Learning Dispositions: Picking up the Threads

Abstract

The concept ‘disposition’ is discussed in relation to its philosophical background. It is found to be a different ‘thread’ from the main theories of cognitive development. From this perspective some questions arise about the appropriate use of a dispositional view of cognition, especially in relation to proposals for dispositions to form the basis of assessment procedures in early childhood (Carr, 1998). An argument is advanced in favour of consistency in cognitive matters and three questions are raised as a result of this inquiry. The title of the paper links the search for the origins of the term ‘disposition’ with the need to have a clear meaning of the concept in order to see where it fits in the context of early childhood and cognition.