Every theory of educa­tion clearly requires a theory of society as a whole and of how social processes shape education. A theory of formal ed­ucation also requires a theory of how learning and thinking skills develop in an individual member of society, and how educational processes contribute to the shaping of these skills.

Moreover, the theory suggests that teachers should teach concepts in a particular sequence of developmental steps. In addition, for true understanding, children must learn the concepts underlying mathematical and scientific knowledge, rather than just memorize facts. Piaget would have been critical of"teaching to the test." He crit-icized typical educational assessments for focusing on correct answers rather than on children's thought processes for reaching the answers. In short, a teacher mainly provides guidance and resources so that chil-dren can teach themselves.