What Will I Learn in an Educational Psychology Program?

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Ancient Practice

Although educational psychology is considered a fairly new field of practice, the basic principles date back to ancient Greece. Plato and Aristotle were both deeply involved in the educational process, observing and recording individual differences in the training and the development of psycho-motor skills, the formation of good character and moral conduct. Plato believed that education was an innate ability that evolved through experience and a general understanding of the world. Aristotle introduced the four laws of association, which included succession, contiguity, similarity and contrast.

When you begin learning educational psychology, you discover the foundation has been shaped by centuries of educators and philosophers. John Locke challenged Plato’s theory of innate ability by stating that education was gained by experience only and we were all born without knowledge. John Herbert is considered the father of educational psychology. The early nineteenth educator believed that children should be taught in five steps, through a practice that is still used today. His method was to begin a class by reviewing the material that had been taught by the previous teacher, then prepare the students for the new class by giving them an overview of what they will learn next. After presenting the new material, the students would relate it to the material already learned. In the final step, students were shown how they could apply the new material and shown what they would learn next.

Applying Educational Psychology

The interest in educational psychology began with the concept of intelligence testing to determine children with learning disabilities and providing special programs for teaching them. It has grown into an asset for all school programs, with educational psychologists designing school programs, evaluating the success of school programs or conducting research on learning.

Learning educational psychology prepares you for guiding and counseling students or consulting with families and educators on special needs programs. You will learn to work within a team that includes psychiatrists, social workers, teachers and speech and language therapists. Your commitment will be in answering the questions that arise when combining cognitive, behavior and social psychology within a classroom setting.

Your Study Disciplines

There are a number of disciplines involved in learning educational psychology. It requires two to seven years of graduate school and two years internship. To qualify as an educational psychologist, you must have a Master’s degree in psychology, a specialist degree in education or a doctoral degree.

Educational psychology involves the study of memory, conceptual processes and individual cognitive skills. It covers the aspects of individual and group counseling, multi-cultural counseling and theories of ethics. You will learn how to assess an individual child’s needs and potential.

With a Master’s Degree or a Specialist’s Degree in educational psychology, you are qualified to apply for licensing to practice as a school psychologist or school administrator. With a doctoral degree, you can become licensed to practice psychology and offer counseling, open your own private practice, lecture or teach at universities or conduct research.

Educational psychology has been growing rapidly over the last twenty years as a means of improving quality education and meeting the individual needs of children. Its principles are built upon the theories of operant conditioning, structuralism, functionalism, humanistic psychology and information processing. It has changed from a behaviorist approach to a cognitive one. Educational psychologists concern themselves with both the biological and psychological aspects of the brain, learning the disciplines of neuropsychology and health psychology. They play an important part in shaping the future as they work alongside educators guiding the children into confident, productive individuals, ready to take their places in society.