The two purposes of this paper are to provide the uninitiated reader with a skeletal overview of Piaget's cognitive development theory and to identify general educational implications, especially for the development of early childhood industrial arts (ECIA) programs. The "Piaget Primer" for ECIA educators overviews such topics as (1) the four critical questions confronting those concerned with ECIA programs, namely, the what, when, why, and how of the teaching-learning process; (2) the four-stage independent concepts of Piaget's system--schema, assimilation, accomodation, and equilibrium; and (3) the four stages or periods of the stage-dependent concepts--sensori-motor intelligence, preoperational thought, concrete operational thought, and formal operational thought. The section on general theoretical implications of Piagetian theory for ECIA programs stresses the necessity for "learning by doing" and the promotion of child-centered, activity-based curriculums in ECIA programs. Seven general educational implications are outlined. (YLB)