What Is Educational Psychology?

Educational psychology is the study of how people learn and retain information. It mainly focuses on the learning process of early childhood and adolescence; however, learning is a lifelong endeavor. People don’t only learn at school; rather, they learn through all of their life experiences, including at home, with friends, at work, through social media, and through culture.

Educational psychologists study the biological, cognitive, emotional, and social factors involved in learning and deepen our understanding of instructional strategies, individual learning styles, and the importance of the environmental context. They may specialize in children with specific learning challenges and develop teaching methods that help students succeed in school.

Educational psychology incorporates several other psychology disciplines, including developmental psychology, behavioral psychology, and cognitive psychology. Over time, five main schools of thought have emerged, including behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, experientialism, and social contextual learning theories.

This article discusses some of the different perspectives taken within the field of educational psychology, topics that educational psychologists study, and career options in this field.

Perspectives in Educational Psychology

As with other areas of psychology, researchers within educational psychology tend to take on different perspectives when considering a problem. These perspectives focus on specific factors that influence learning, including thoughts, emotions, behaviors, experiences, and more.

Five main schools of thought dominate this field of research, including behavioral, developmental, cognitive, constructivist, and experiential perspectives.

The Behavioral Perspective

This perspective suggests that all behaviors are learned through conditioning, such as positive reinforcement. Psychologists who take this perspective rely firmly on the principles of operant conditioning to explain how learning happens.

For example, teachers might reward learning by giving students tokens that can be exchanged for desirable items such as candy or toys. The behavioral perspective operates on the theory that students will learn when rewarded for desirable behavior and punished for bad behavior.

While such methods can be useful in some cases, the behavioral approach has been criticized for failing to account for internal processes such as attitudes, emotions, and intrinsic motivations for learning.

The Developmental Perspective

The developmental perspective includes studying biological, cognitive, emotional, and social development throughout the lifespan. This perspective focuses on how children acquire new skills and knowledge as they grow and develop.

For developmental psychologists, there is a balance between nature and nurture in the learning process. This means that as the brain develops, the capacity for learning, problem-solving, and memory increases, and at the same time, life experiences with family, playmates, teachers, and mentors facilitate the learning process and acquisition of knowledge.

Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development are one example of an important developmental theory that examines how children grow intellectually.

By understanding how children think at different stages of development, educational psychologists can better understand what children are capable of at each point of their growth. This can help educators create instructional methods and materials aimed at specific age groups.

The Cognitive Perspective

The cognitive approach has become much more widespread, mainly because it accounts for factors such as thinking, attention, information processing, and memory formation.

Cognitive psychologists value constructs such as individual beliefs, perspectives, emotions, and motivations that contribute to the learning process. This theory supports the idea that a person learns because of their own intrinsic motivation, not because of external rewards as a behaviorist would view it.

Educational psychologists who take a cognitive perspective are interested in understanding how kids become motivated to learn, how they remember the things that they learn, and how they solve problems, among other topics.

The Constructivist Approach

This perspective focuses on how we actively construct our knowledge of the world. Constructivism accounts for the social and cultural influences that affect how we learn.

Those who take the constructivist approach believe that what a person already knows significantly influences how they learn new information. This means that new knowledge can only be added to and understood in terms of existing knowledge.

This perspective is heavily influenced by the work of psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who proposed ideas such as the zone of proximal development and instructional scaffolding.

Experiential Perspective

This perspective emphasizes that a person’s life experiences influence how they understand new information. This method is similar to constructivist and cognitive perspectives in that it considers the learner’s experiences, thoughts, and feelings.

This method allows someone to find personal meaning in what they learn instead of feeling that the information doesn’t apply to them.

Topics in Educational Psychology

From the materials teachers use to the individual needs of students, educational psychologists delve deep to more fully understand the learning process. Some of these topics of study in educational psychology include:

• Educational technology: Looking at how different types of technology can help students learn
• Instructional design: Designing effective learning materials
• Special education: Helping students who may need specialized instruction
• Curriculum development: Creating coursework that will maximize learning
• Organizational learning: Studying how people learn in organizational settings, such as workplaces
• Gifted learners: Helping students who are identified as gifted learners

Careers in Educational Psychology

Educational psychologists work with educators, administrators, teachers, and students to analyze how to help people learn best. This often involves identifying students who may need extra help, developing programs for struggling students, and even creating new learning methods.

• School system. Many educational psychologists work directly with schools. Some are teachers or professors, while others help teachers try new learning methods for their students and develop new course curricula.
• Counselor. An educational psychologist may even become a counselor, directly helping students cope with learning barriers.
• Research. Other educational psychologists work in research. For instance, they might work for a government organization such as the U.S. Department of Education, influencing decisions about the best resources and programs for kids to learn in schools nationwide.
• Administration. In addition, an educational psychologist may work in school or university administration. In each of these roles, they can influence educational methods and help students learn in a way that best suits them.

A bachelor’s degree and master’s degree are usually required for careers in this field; if you want to work at a university or in school administration, you may also need to complete a doctorate.

History of Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is a relatively young subfield that has experienced tremendous growth. Psychology did not emerge as a separate science until the late 1800s, so earlier interest in educational psychology was largely fueled by educational philosophers.

• Johann Herbart. He believed that a student’s interest in a topic had a tremendous influence on the learning outcome. He believed teachers should consider this when deciding which type of instruction is most appropriate.
• William James. Psychologist and philosopher William James made significant contributions to the field. His seminal 1899 text “Talks to Teachers on Psychology” is considered the first textbook on educational psychology.
• Alfred Binet. In the early 1900s, French psychologist Alfred Binet was developing his famous IQ tests. The tests were originally designed to help the French government identify children who had developmental delays and create special education programs.
• John Dewey. In the United States, John Dewey had a significant influence on education. Dewey’s ideas were progressive; he believed schools should focus on students rather than on subjects. He advocated active learning, arguing that hands-on experience was an important part of the process.
• Benjamin Bloom. More recently, educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom developed an important taxonomy designed to categorize and describe different educational objectives. The three top-level domains he described were cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning objectives.

Other Significant Figures

Throughout history, several additional figures have played an important role in the development of educational psychology. Some of these well-known individuals include:

• John Locke: Locke is an English philosopher who suggested the concept of tabula rasa, or the idea that the mind is essentially a blank slate at birth. This means that knowledge is developed through experience and learning.
• Jean Piaget: A Swiss psychologist best known for his highly influential theory of cognitive development, Piaget’s influence on educational psychology is still evident today.
• B.F. Skinner: Skinner was an American psychologist who introduced the concept of operant conditioning, which influences behaviorist perspectives. His research on reinforcement and punishment continues to play an important role in education.

Final Thoughts

Educational psychology offers valuable insights into how people learn and plays an important role in informing educational strategies and teaching methods. In addition to exploring the learning process itself, different areas of educational psychology explore the emotional, social, and cognitive factors that can influence how people learn. If you are interested in topics such as special education, curriculum design, and educational technology, then you might want to consider pursuing a career in the field of educational psychology.