Educational psychology is the branch of psychology that determines how individuals learn and develop within an educational setting. It plays an important role in shaping the future of an individual by understanding the human behaviour. Edward Thorndike is the father of modern educational psychology.
According to Crow and Crow, “Educational psychology describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual from birth through old age”.
According to Carter V. Good, “Educational psychology is the investigation of psychological problems involved in education, together with the practical application of psychological principles of education.”
According to Anderson, “while general psychology is a pure science, educational psychology is its application on the field of education with the aim of socialising an individual and modifying his behaviour.”
Objectives of Educational Psychology
The Following are some objectives of educational psychology:
• To know the behaviour patterns of children at different stages of development.
• To choose and adapt appropriate methods for teaching the subject matter.
• To understand the learner and the learning process.
• To choose appropriate teaching aids for pupils at different stages.
• To cater individual differences in the classroom.
• To help the children to know about their innate qualities such as instincts, potentialities etc.
• To assist in setting up, defining and maintaining progressive teaching procedures.
• To evaluate and assess the learning outcomes of children.
• To help in formulating educational objectives.
Nature of Educational Psychology
Educational psychology plays a crucial role in understanding the nature of teaching learning process and how it impacts the development of an individual’s personality and overall growth. Following are some points which explain the nature of educational psychology:
• It deals with the human behaviour in educational settings.
• It is scientific in nature.
• It is dynamic in nature.
• It is comprehensive in nature.
• It is an academic discipline.
• It focuses on individual differences.
• It studies how pupils acquire, process and retain information.
• It analyzes the diversity among learners.
• It uses psychological principles to understand the behaviour of an individual.
• It is an experimental and developing science.
• It studies cause and effect relationship.
• It studies the influence of the learning environment on educational outcomes.
• It helps to create an inclusive learning environment.
• It considers learning as a life-long process.
• It helps to create a collaborative approach to education.
• It promotes inquiry based learning.
• It considers the influence of social and cultural context on learning.
• It also considers students’ attitudes, interests and potentialities.
• It helps in developing tools and devices for doing research.
Scope of Educational Psychology
According to psychologists, Educational Psychology is a growing science so its scope is very wide. The following points can be included under the scope of educational psychology:
1. Educational Psychology solves children’s personality related problems by understanding their unique learning styles, aptitudes and needs.
2. Educational Psychology helps to cater individual differences in the classroom by providing a supportive environment and appropriate teaching strategies.
3. Education psychology plays a vital role in understanding and enhancing the effectiveness of various teaching methods employed in classrooms.
4. Educational psychologists' study various stages of growth and development by examining cognitive, social, emotional and physical aspects.
5. Educational psychology focuses more on research-based studies. So that it can direct and predict the behaviour of students in the classroom setting.
6. The scope of educational psychology in guidance and counselling encompasses various key areas. It provides a framework for understanding students' cognitive abilities, learning styles, socio-emotional challenges, and academic strengths and weaknesses.
7. Measurement and evaluation is another field of educational psychology. It provides essential tools for gathering data and assessing student progress. Further, assessment results can be used to reform instructional strategies.
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