This is the second edition of a textbook that has met with enthusiastic acclaim since its publication in 1988. It explores in detail theories and discussions of how children think and learn. It also looks at the practical implications of research and acknowledges some of the difficult problems teachers face when trying to put theory and research into practice in the classroom. Although retaining much of the structure and information of the first edition, the author has now included a new, overview chapter in which he outlines some of the major developments that have occurred over the past decade. Ensuing chapters have also been amended to discuss these changes in relation to the topics addressed in each. The chapter on mathematics has been substantially re-worked to include new information in both theoretical understanding and also knowledge of children's understanding, while the final chapter on education incorporates a new section on educational technology and its relation to major theories of learning and development.