Educational Psychology
As already
discussed Educational Psychology is one of the many branches of Psychology
dealing mainly with the problems processes and product of education. It is an attempt to apply
the knowledge of psychology in the field of education Here we try to study
human behaviour particularly the behaviour of the learner in relation to his
educational environment. In other words, Educational Psychology may be defined
as that branch psychology which studies the behaviour of the learner in
relation to his educational needs and his environment.
Educational
Psychology has been defined by various psychologists and scholar For the sake
of understanding what educational psychology is, let us analyze a few important
definitions.
Skinner (1958): Educational psychology
is that branch of psychology which deals with teaching and learning.
Crow and Crow (1973): Educational
psychology describes and explains the learning experiences of an individual
from birth through old age.
Peel (1956): Educational psychology is
the science of education.
The
definition given by Skinner considers Educational Psychology to be the
psychology of teaching and learning, i.e. psychology applied in the field of
education for improving the methods and products of the teaching—learning
process. Education in its applied form is centred around the process of
teaching and learning and it is this which helps the teacher in better teaching
and the learner in better learning.
The
definition given by L. D. Crow and Alice Crow describes Educational Psychology
as that subject area of the curriculum through which one can study the
development of an individual in terms of his learning achievement during his
life-span. How he goes on learning as a result of interaction with his
environment and how he can learn effectively is covered by Educational
Psychology.
Learning,
however because of its close association with experience, often said to be a
great teacher, is never independent of teaching. Therefore, what we find in the
process of development is nothing but a planned spontaneous scheme of teaching
and learning. All our efforts and energies in the field of education directed
to planning and devising the appropriate means of better teaching and effective
learning. Educational Psychology is mainly meant for solving the practical
problems related to the field of education, especially the process of teaching
and learning.
It is these
considerations which led E.A. Peel to define and describe Educational
Psychology as the science of education, i.e. a discipline which can be used to
improve the processes and products of education in a scientific way.
Having obtained an understanding of Education and Psychology separately, it now becomes necessary to understand
what Educational psychology is?
In the first place, it is one of the applied
forms of psychology. When the principles
of psychology are applied to a particular field of human endeavor, there is created a separate branch of psychology named after that specific field.
Thus, the application of the
principles of psychology to
education is educational psychology.
Definitions of Educational Psychology
G.L. Anderson - Educational psychology is a subject deserving study is that field of knowledge which
tells us how the laws and
principles of one sphere of knowledge
are supplied to the
social process; it is a collection
of means and techniques, and a
sphere of research.
W.B Kolesnik- “Educational Psychology is the application of the
findings and the theories of psychology in the field of education.”
J.M. Stephen- Educational Psychology is a systematic study of
educational growth.”
C. E. Skinner- “Educational Psychology utilizes those that deal
specially with the experience and behaviour of human beings in the educational
situation.”
C.H Judd -Educational Psychology may be defined as the science
which describes and explains the changes that take place in individuals as they
pass through various stages of development from birth to maturity.”
Stout- “The basic principle which psychology tends to the theory of
education is that new knowledge should be a development of previous knowledge.”
C.V Good- Educational psychology is (i) the
investigation of the psychological problems involved in education, together
with the practical application of psychological principles to education (ii) a
study of nature of learning.
It has
become clear from the preceding definitions and explanation that educational
psychology is a practical science which takes the aid of psychology in solving
educational problems. It’s field of study consists of and comprehends any and
every situation in which psychology becomes applicable to education. As a
discipline, it is a collection of the facts and principles of behaviour. These
facts and principles are closely related to each other. In general, educational
psychology means, the work in the sphere of psychology in every educational
situation.
Educational
situations or circumstances are created by man. Numerous factors influence
these circumstances which are the product of social reactions, specific
objectives, general objectives and society’s norms and values. All these
factors have a profound influence upon learning. How much children will learn,
depends upon the teacher’s knowledge of psychology and his application of
psychological principles. The extent to which the desired objectives have been
obtained is discovered by various techniques of measurements provided by
psychology, how can educational objectives be achieved the education of
mentally retarded children and brilliant Children? Finding out the answer to
these questions is the task of educational psychology. At the first time, this
science includes analysis of professional knowledge and knowledge of human
behaviour .Through it, the environment is effectively controlled for the
achievement of desired objectives.
Nature of Educational Psychology
Educational
Psychology is the science of education and the nature of educational psychology
is nothing but scientific.
Since Educational Psychology is an offshoot
and part and parcel of Psychology, its nature cannot be different from the main
subject. The following points further confirm the nature of Educational
Psychology as scientific.
1. Educational Psychology
possesses a well-organized, systematic and universally accepted body of facts
supported by the relevant psychological laws and principles.
2. It is constantly in
search of the truth. i.e. studying the behaviour of the learner in relation to his
educational environment Moreover, the findings of such study are never taken as
absolute and permanent. The results of any study in Educational Psychology can
be challenged and are modified or altered in terms of the latest explanations
and findings.
3. It employs scientific
methods and adopts a scientific approach for studying the learner’s behavior. Setting
of hypotheses, objective observation, controlled experimentation, clinical
investigation, and generalization based on adequate similar evidences provide
enough reasons for its studies to be termed scientific.
4. The processes and
products of these studies are sufficiently scientific as a high degree of
logical viability, objectivity, reliability and validity is maintained in
carrying out the study and research n the field of Educational Psychology.
5. Educational Psychology
does not accept hearsay and does not take anything for granted. It emphasizes
that essentially there is some definite cause linked with a behaviour and the
causes of this behaviour are not related to supernatural phenomena.
6. Educational Psychology is
mostly concerned with the ‘what’ and the why’ of happenings in the present
instead of caring for the pact. Therefore, in its study, it focuses attention
on problems like the present behaviour of the learner, the causes of such behaviour,
and the repercussions if it were to continue unchanged.
7. It is a positive science
rather than a normative science and like the sciences. it does not concern
itself with values and ideals. Therefore, instead of answering questions like
“what ought to be”, e.g. why education should be provided and what type of education
is to be provided to the children, youth or adults, it focuses attention on providing
the key to the ‘how’, when’ and ‘where’ of education proving its worth as a
science and technology.
8. The generalizations
arrived at and conclusions reached through study of Educational Psychology are
sufficiently reliable and thus the sciences, these can be used for predictions
of behaviour in similar situations. R. B. Cattell, the modern psychologist,
believed so much the predictable quality of these studies that he persisted in
defining personality as the attribute which permits a prediction of what a
person will do in a given situation.
Scope of Educational Psychology
Educational Psychology is
the science of education, which mainly deals with the problems of teaching and
learning and helps the teacher in his task of modifying the learner’s behaviour
and bringing about an all-round development of his personality. Therefore,
while in psychology the scope of study and the field of operation are extended
to cover the behaviour of all living organisms related to all their life
activities, in Educational Psychology, the scope of such behavioural study has
to be limited within the confines of the teaching-learning process, i.e. studying
the behaviour of the learners in relation to their educational environment
specifically for the satisfaction of their educational needs and the all-round
development of their personality. Specifically, thus, the subject matter of educational
psychology must be centred around the process of teaching and learning enabling
the teacher and learners to do their jobs as satisfactorily as possible.
For
improving the processes and products of the related to teaching and learning,
we will have to improve all the ingredients of this phenomenon. For this
purpose, the basic questions involved in the teaching learning process
must be satisfactorily attended to:
Who is being
taught or educated?
By whom is he to
be taught or educated?
Why is education
to be provided to the child or what are the values or objectives that are to be
aimed at through the teaching learning process?
What is to be
taught or what learning experience is to be imparted to the learner for
achieving the desired educational objectives?
How, when and
where should these learning experiences be satisfactorily provided to the
learner for achieving the desired educational objectives?
Educational
Psychology seeks to provide satisfactory solutions and answers of all the
questions raised above except, the why of education as this is purely the concern
of Educational Philosophy, a matter to be decided by society or the government.
Therefore, all texts of Educational Psychology are loaded with material related
to the other six basic questions.
Who is being
educated?
The
individuality and personality of the learner must be known before he is taught
or subjected to behaviour modification. Therefore, topics and contents like the
following, which are helpful in exploring the individuality of the learner, are
to be included in the study of Educational Psychology.
The
process and pattern of growth and development during different stages an
individual’s life, his instincts and other innate abilities, the learned and acquired
abilities, individual differences in terms of abilities and capacities and
their measures such as the extent of interests, aptitudes, attitudes,
intelligence, creativity are also important for personality appraisal.
By whom is
the Learner to be taught?
In order to achieve
the desired success in any teaching learning process, the role of the teacher
can never be minimized. In fact, much depends on the competency and capability
of the teacher for carrying out the desired task. Not everybody can be
entrusted with the crucial task of behaviour modification and personality
development of a number of children studying in a class or school. One has to
make oneself capable by equipping oneself for it. For this purpose, the teacher
himself must be acquainted with his own self, the expectations from him in
terms of personality, characteristics, role playing and work habits.
Consequently, he is required o pay attention to the following aspects, which
have been included in a text of educational psychology:
1. Personality
traits and characteristics of good teachers.
2. Duties and responsibilities
of a teacher
3. Measures for
knowing and doing away with his own conflicts, anxiety and tension
4. Teacher’s
motivation, level of aspiration, adjustment and mental health.
What is to be
Taught?
Whereas the aims
and objectives of providing education to the children at one or the other
developmental stage are decided by Educational Philosophy depending on the
needs and wishes of the society or government, Educational Psychology plays its
role in deciding the type of learning experience suitable for the children at
each developmental stage by keeping in view the differences in their
potentialities. The subject matter of Educational psychology thus definitely
covers the topics helpful in suggesting principles, methods and techniques for
the selection of the learning experiences appropriate to each developmental
stage of the children. It enunciates how to organize the contents or topics
grade wise, giving them the shape of a syllabus or curriculum. How to cater for
the individual differences and individuality of the children in framing the
syllabi or curriculum also taken care of by educational psychology. The subject
tries to encompass, the essential knowledge and skills for equipping the teachers
to plan, select and
arrange learning experiences to the children suitable for their age, grade
and
meeting their specific individual potentialities.
How are the learning
experience to be provided?
Who
is being taught, and what is to be taught and for what purpose? After answering
these questions, another question which arises is, how should the child be
given the learning experiences planned for different stages of his growth. In
other words, what is to be done for the proper and effective communication
between the teacher and the taught? What should be the appropriate methods and
techniques of imparting education to the children? How can children be helped
in the acquisition of useful learning experiences for the desirable
modification in their behaviour and appropriate development of their
personality? Educational Psychology tries to provide satisfactory solutions for
all these questions by including relevant topics such as the following:
1.
Nature, laws and theories of learning
2.
Remembering and forgetting
3.
Means of effective learning and memorization
4.
Transfer of learning or training
5.
Sensation and perception
6.
Concept formation
7.
Interest and attitude formation thinking,
reasoning and problem solving behaviour etc.
When and where are the Learning
Experiences to be Provided?
Every time and place or environmental
situation is not suitable for a particular piece of instruction or the sharing
of a learning experience. The effectiveness of a teaching learning programme
depends largely on the suitability of the teaching learning situations in terms
of time, place and other environmental factors. Educational psychology helps
the teacher and the learners to understand the suitability and appropriateness
of a teaching learning situation for the effective realization of the teaching-learning
objectives. It also helps them to modify the teaching learning situation to
achieve the desired results by giving place in its study to topics such as the
following:
1.
Classroom
climate
2.
Institution / organizational climate
3.
Individual, self, supervised and group study
4.
Factors affecting attention
5.
Role of rewards and punishment
Importance
of Educational Psychology
Educational
psychology has presented two aspects to society: (I) practical, (ii)
theoretical. As a discipline, it has theoretical as well as practical
importance for educators, learners and parents. In the modern age, the process
of teaching cannot be successfully conducted by anyone being ignorant of
educational psychology because today psychology has become the very foundation
of education. In view of this, the importance of educational psychology can be elaborated
as follows:
1. Child-centred
education - In ancient times, the focus of education was the teacher, not
the students and teaching went on regardless of the child’s interest,
tendencies and aptitudes. Now, with changing times, concept of education and
teaching have changed as a result, it is the child who has become the focus or
centre of education. Today, syllabi and methods of teaching developed in
accordance with the ability, capacity, interest and aptitude of the learner.
2. Change in the methods
of teaching - In the past, the main emphasis in the process of teaching was
cramming or learning by rote. Teachers then believed that cramming improved and
developed the mind. However, psychological tests have established that cramming
is among the most inappropriate methods of teaching. Today, many new
psychologically sound methods of teaching have been evolved, which bring about
the development of the powers and capacities lying in the child’s personality.
These methods enable the child to express and magnifies his true capacities. Among
such teaching methods are the Dalton plan, the Project method, Kindergart en
and Basic education: these bring about the comprehensive development of the
learner
3. Curriculum - Before the intrusion of
psychology into the educational field, it was generally told that the
curriculum should be a difficult one, necessitating a lot of practice on the
learner’s part. That is why, traditionally, mathematics was taught by posing
the most difficult questions and insisting that students practice them. In
contrast, methods of teaching have changed under the impact of psychology. As
Danis has pointed out, ‘Psychology has made distinct contribution to education
through his analysis of pupils, potentialities and differences as revealed by
means of various types of psychological tests. It has also contributed directly
to knowledge of pupil-growth and maturation during school years “This explains
why, today, in creating a curriculum, attention is focused primarily on the
child’s interest, aptitude, growth, etc. Now, the curriculum is for the child
and not the child for the curriculum.
4. Time-table - It is the consequence of
the influence of educational psychology that, when a time table is being framed
in a school, considerable thought is devoted to the order in which teaching of
different subjects is to be arranged. In the past, no attention was devoted to
children’s attention, rest, exhaustion and other factors. The timetable is
framed to suit the convenience of teachers, not to confirm to the learner’s
ability and capacity. Now, in framing timetables efforts are made to
take into consideration such factors as climate, the interests and aptitude of
children. their individual differences etc.
5. Co-curricular activities - Because of
the development of educational psychology, the curriculum of today incorporates
various kinds of co-curricular activities. In the past, it generally held that
whatever a child did apart from studying meant a waste of time, but now this
foolish conviction has been refuted. Debates, discussion, competition in essay
and story writing, tours, expeditions, students union activities, games, staging
of plays, music and host of other co-curricular activities have been recognized
as important and this has contributed significantly to the comprehensive
development of children.
6. Discipline - As soon as psychology
entered the domain of education, it immediate refuted the ancient axiom-spare
the rod and spoil the child. Educators have now come to believe that the use of
the rod, threats and corporal punishment are the most unsuitable methods of
achieving the comprehensive development of students. Psychological tests have
been established that on violating laws or committing crimes, students are not
afraid of punishment, but they do desire that the punishment should be in
conformity with their age and position. That is why, in the modem age, if a
child commits some crime within or without the classroom, the teacher, instead
of making repressive use of the stick, tries to discover the causes of the
deviant behaviour and then bring about a permanent cure. These methods play
great emphasis upon maintaining stable and permanent discipline by relying on
democratic methods.
7. Healthy Environment --- Describing a
school Rahindranath Tagore, he himself had seen, mentioned that its walls were
shabby and black and, it lacked both a ventilator for air and seats for the
children. Today on the contrary, it is realized that for the healthy education
of healthy children, it is essential to create a healthy environment, which can
stimulate the children’s desire to learn. In school, efforts made to create an
environment, favouring the transfer of acquired knowledge to the sphere of
practical life. It should also be conductive to the mental and physical health
of children.
8. Research - As educational psychology is
a new science, there is ample scope for research in it, and, in fact, many
research projects have already been conducted and are being conducted at
present. The teachers can translate the result obtained from them into
practical technique in order to increase his professional skill. These new
researches increase the teacher’s loyalty and dedication to his profession and
acquaint him with latest techniques of teaching. Through these, he can bring
about the comprehensive development of his students.
9. Formation of opinion on educational
problems - Educational psychology provides us with occasions to reflect
upon, analyse, find solution and also form opinions on variety of educational
problems which have given rise to many a social evil. The basis or foundation
of such problems as juvenile delinquency, backwardness, problem children, indiscipline
and student unrest in the school and it is the duty of teachers that these
problems must be solved.
10. Measurement and evaluation -- Another
sphere in which educational psychology has made valuable contributions is that
of use and development of measurement and evaluation. Though these efforts are
made to ensure that a child’s educational achievement and his capacities are
measured accurately that an accurate assessment of his progress is made
possible. The new methods of measurement have helped in removing wastage and
stagnation from the field of education. Today the child’s interest, ability,
aptitude and innate capacity are first measured and is then given a particular
direction in which he can progress, making the best use of his innate
capacities and talents. This helps the child to find the most suitable
direction in life, besides; he can achieve the maximum possible
development of his abilities and capacities.
11. An aid in achieving educational objectives
- Overall, educational psychology concentrates upon the behaviour of the
educator and the learner and thus it proves an invaluable aid in achieving the
goals of education. According to Skinner- educational psychology, provide
knowledge to the educator on the basis of which the educator achieves his
educational objectives.
12. Emphasis upon individual
differences-- In psychology, the basic unit is the individual. It does not
regard similar behaviour in two individuals as the outcome of an
action-reaction pattern. In a single class, while some students easily and
quickly grasp something taught by one teacher, other students fail to
comprehend what he says. It is obvious then, that, since students have their
individual differences, they require individual teaching. It is for this reason
that psychology insists upon education being imparted separately to mentally
retarded, gifted, handicapped and problem children.
