Psychology of Education

Abstract

The convergence of Educational Psychology with the mainstream of Psychology is a main event of the past quarter century, and Psychology itself has become a discipline distinct from Philosophy. Psychology has expanded to include not only experimental but also developmental and social psychology and the application of statistical methodologies to complex problems. There has been a change of model from “clinical-medical” to “constructive-educational” concerned with environmental change, most clearly seen in the field of special education. Post-war Europe attempted wide-ranging “reforms” emphasising age, ability and aptitude, irrespective of social or economic background, while the American high school pattern stimulated concern about elitism. Elaborate procedures were set up to select for secondary academic education and examination procedures were themselves examined leading to a widespread movement to devise more responsive forms of assessment. Curricula, modified in the light of examination “backwash”, were questioned for cost-effectiveness. This led to classfication of objectives for which taxonomies were developed, and a move towards criterion-referenced testing began. Since 1950 worldwide momentum has been gathering to develop educational research. This has led to new roles for the educational psychologist — as adviser and counsellor, in operational and action research, and in innovation and its evaluation. Research within real families and classrooms continually confronts the worker with questions of value and choice and so leads him back to philosophy.