Educational/school Psychology in the Pursuit of Human Well-being

Educational/School Psychology in the Pursuit of				For Social, Moral and Cognitive
Human Well-Being				Developemnt
				To understand the characteristics of learners in
				childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age,
Introduction				educational psychology develops and applies
				theories of human development. Often cast as
Now we are living in the				stages through which people pass as they
technological modern world. With the help of				mature, developmental theories describe changes
science and technology we have developed in all				in mental abilities (cognition), social roles, moral
fields. India is a developing country. We have lot				reasoning, and beliefs about the nature of
of human resources after China. But the literacy				knowledge.
rate is very low when compared to other				For example, educational psychologists have
developed and developing countries in the world.				researched the instructional applicability of Jean
India is a rich country, but Indians are poor. With				Piaget's theory of development, according to
the help of science and technology and by utilizing				which children mature through four stages of
all sources in the proper way it is possible to India				cognitive capability. Piaget hypothesized that
to become a developed country in the world. In				children are not capable of abstract logical thought
the modern world people living with high tension.				until they are older than about 11 years, and
The student in schools and colleges are also living				therefore younger children need to be taught
with high tension because of heavy competitions.				using concrete objects and examples.
It is necessary to introduce psychology as a				Researchers have found that transitions, such as
general subject in all the classes both at school				from concrete to abstract logical thought, do not
and college levels. Yoga and meditation is also				occur at the same time in all domains. A child may
necessary for each and every one in the world.				be able to think abstractly about mathematics,
Definition of Education				but remain limited to concrete thought when
Ø Education is the learning of human				reasoning about human relationships. Perhaps
souls to what is best, and making what is best				Piaget's most enduring contribution is his insight
out of them?				that people actively construct their understanding
– John Ruskin				through a self-regulatory process.
Ø Education is a weapon, whose effect				Piaget proposed a developmental theory of moral
depends on who holds it is his hands and at whom				reasoning in which children progress from a naive
it is aimed.				understanding of morality based on behavior and
� – Joseph Stalin				outcomes to a more advanced understanding
The word education is derived from the Latin				based on intentions. Piaget's views of moral
educare, meaning "to raise", "to bring up", "to				development were elaborated by Kohlberg into a
train", "to rear". Education means the gradual				stage theory of moral development. There is
process of acquiring knowledge. Education is a				evidence that the moral reasoning described in
preparation for life. Education is also defined as the				stage theories is not sufficient to account for
profession of teaching (especially at a school or				moral behavior. For example, other factors such
college or university).				as modeling (as described by the social cognitive
Importance of Education				theory of morality) are required to explain bullying.
India is a union comprised of twenty eight states				Developmental theories are sometimes presented
and seven Territories. The Constitution provides				not as shifts between qualitatively different
directives regarding the development of education				stages, but as gradual increments on separate
throughout the country. The areas in which the				dimensions. Development of epistemological beliefs
respective central and state governments have				(beliefs about knowledge) have been described in
domain have been identified in the Constitution as				terms of gradual changes in people's belief in:
the central list, state list and concurrent list. Until				certainty and permanence of knowledge,
the late 1970s, school education had been on the				fixedness of ability, and credibility of authorities
state list, which meant that states had the final				such as teachers and experts. People develop
say in the management of their respective school				more sophisticated beliefs about knowledge as
systems. However, in 1976, education was				they gain in education and maturity.
transferred to the concurrent list through a				Psychology and Teacher
constitutional amendment, the objective being to				Teacher is a national builder. He
promote meaningful educational partnerships				has a power to change the world through
between the central and state governments.				education. According to our Indians teacher is a
Today, the central government establishes broad				third god. Teacher plays a prominet role in the
education policies for school curricula development				development of society. Educational Psychology is
and management practices. These serve as				a main subject in teacher education at D.Ed.,
guidelines for the states.				B.Ed., and M.Ed. levels. It is necessary for each and
				every teacher to know about psychology.
Generally, at the start of a very young age,				Becausse it is necessary to know the behaviour
children learn to develop and use their mental,				of the students in the class. Teacher has different
moral and physical powers, which they acquire				roles like father, advisor, councellor, administrator
through various types of education. Education is				and well wisher. The future of any country is in
commonly referred to as the process of learning				the hands of teachers. So it is necessary to give
and obtaining knowledge at school, in a form of				importance for teacher education. So our
formal education. However, the process of				government introduced psychology subject in
education does not only start when a child first				teacher education curriculum.
attends school. Education begins at home. One				After undergoing the course, the student teacher
does not only acquire knowledge from a teacher;				1) Explains psychology and its relationship
one can learn and receive knowledge from a				with Education.
parent, family member and even an acquaintance.				2) Classifies different branches of
In almost all societies, attending school and				psychology and explains their significance.
receiving an education is extremely vital and				3) Explains the importance of heredity
necessary if one wants to achieve success.				and environment and its influences in educational
Educational Psychology				process.
Educational psychology is the study of how				4) Explains the different aspects of the
humans learn in educational settings, the				development of the child.
effectiveness of educational interventions, the				5) Explains the growth and human beings
psychology of teaching, and the social psychology				and their behaviour.
of schools as organizations. Although the terms				6) Describes the individual aspects of the
"educational psychology" and "school psychology"				development of the child.
are often used interchangeably, researchers and				7) Explains the primary needs of the
theorists are likely to be identified as educational				children.
psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or				8) Explains the secondary needs of the
school-related settings are identified as school				children.
psychologists. Educational psychology is concerned				9) Explains the theories of learning and
with the processes of educational attainment				the factors influencing learning.
among the general population and sub-populations				10) Explains the concept of socialization.
such as gifted children and those subject to				11) Explains the different types of learning.
specific disabilities				12) Understands the concept of motivation and
Educational psychology can in				the steps to be taken to motivate the children.
part be understood through its relationship with				13) Explains attention and its uses.
other disciplines. It is informed primarily by				14) Develops skill of observation, listening,
psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline				responding and understanding.
analogous to the relationship between medicine				15) Describes memory, remembering and
and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs				forgetting and identifies conditions of good
a wide range of specialities within educational				memory.
studies, including instructional design, educational				16) Describes the effects of different methods
technology, curriculum development, organizational				used for learning process.
learning, special education and classroom				17) Explains thinking process and its
management. Educational psychology both draws				uses-perception, conception, apperception for
from and contributes to cognitive science and the				different ages.
learning sciences. In universities, departments of				18) Explains the role of creativity and its
educational psychology are usually housed within				development.
faculties of education, possibly accounting for the				19) Explains the meaning of intelligence and
lack of representation of educational psychology				understands the changing concept of intelligence.
content in introductory psychology textbooks.				20) Enhances personality development of pupils.
Uses of Educational Psychology				21) Describes the mental hygiene and mental
For finding Individual differences and Disabilities				health.
Each person has an individual				22) Understands exceptional children and their
profile of characteristics, abilities and challenges				significance.
that result from learning and development. These				23) Practices guidance and counseling for school
manifest as individual differences in intelligence,				pupils.
creativity, cognitive style, motivation, and the				Conclusion
capacity to process information, communicate,				Educational psychology is an
and relate to others. The most prevalent				application of the principles of psychology for
disabilities found among school age children are				effective learning and modification of behaviour on
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),				desirable dimensions. Knowledge of educational
learning disability, dyslexia, and speech disorder.				psychology makes a teacher effective in
Less common disabilities include mental				motivating the pupils in their learning. In short it is
retardation, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy,				an inseparable part of strategy in education.
epilepsy, and blindness.				Education gives knowledge, wealth and health.
Although theories of intelligence have been				Education is a solution for all types of problems in
discussed by philosophers since Plato, intelligence				the society. Through education only it is possible
testing is an invention of educational psychology,				overall development of a person in the society.
and is coincident with the development of that				Through education it is easy to know about
discipline. Continuing debates about the nature of				behavour of the students and persons in the
intelligence revolve on whether intelligence can be				society with the help of psychology. So it is
characterized by a single, scalar factor				necessary to study psychology all persons in the
(Spearman's general intelligence), multiple factors				society in the modern world. Educational
(as in Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence				Psychology helps the overall development of the
and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences), or				student.
whether it can be measured at all. In practice,				References
standardized instruments such as the				1. Educational psychology a cognitive view by
Stanford-Binet IQ test and the WISC are widely				Asubel, D.P.
used in economically developed countries to				2..Element of educational psychology by Bhatia,
identify children in need of individualized educational				H.R.
treatment. Children classified as gifted are often				3. Psychology applied to teaching by Bichler, R.F.
provided with accelerated or enriched programs.				4. Educational psychology by Cole, E.C. and Bruce,
Children with identified deficits may be provided				W.F.
with enhanced education in specific skills such as				5.
phonological awareness.

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Educational/school Psychology in the Pursuit of Human Well-being