Beyond educational psychology: Steps toward an educational semiotic

In this paper, I argue that educational psychology is deeply embedded in an objectivist epistemology, the consequences of which seriously undermine our ability to inform educational practice. In the remainder of the paper, I provide an introduction to semiotics, the doctrine of signs, and offer four global concepts (the sign, semiosis, inference, and reflexivity) that I believe set semiotics apart from other, more or less related, approaches within psychology and educational psychology (e.g., constructivism). I conclude the paper by responding to some of the more frequently asked questions I have encountered in attempting to define an educational semiotic.     

The lack of representation of educational psychology and school psychology in introductory psychology textbooks

The first goal of this study was to look at the representation of educational and school psychology in introductory psychology textbooks. Research into the representation of other sub‐fields of psychology has been conducted but no research has looked specifically at educational or school psychology. The second goal was to compare the representation of educational and school psychology in introductory psychology textbooks to see if one or the other is receiving more coverage. Third, the textbooks with the most coverage were listed in order to aid educational and school psychologists teaching introductory psychology courses in selecting textbooks that adequately cover material from their sub‐fields. A total of 57 introductory psychology textbooks were content analyzed: 65% of the introductory psychology textbooks had educational psychology material and 65% had school psychology material. However, in the textbooks containing this material the educational and school psychology material made up only .29% and .19% of the textbooks’ total content.     

Race-reimaging educational psychology research: Investigating constructs through the lens of race and culture

Despite increasing racial and cultural diversity in the United States and many other industrialized countries, less than 2% of research published in top-tier educational psychology journals authentically examines the experiences of racial and cultural minorities. Through this special issue, we not only aim to increase representation of these populations in our research, but we also strive to promote greater integrity in how racial and cultural constructs are managed in the theories, methods, analyses, and interpretations of educational psychology research. In this introduction article, we define and discuss race-reimaging in educational psychology. Further, we briefly review the historical and contemporary issues in conventional psychological research that necessitate race-reimaging and underscore its appeal. Subsequently, we introduce each article in the special issue and speak to how its respective race-reimaging qualities inform as well as extend traditional educational psychology constructs. Finally, we point to special guest commentary by Paul Schutz and conclude with implications for race-reimaged research broadly.     

The evolved child: Applying evolutionary developmental psychology to modern schooling

Evolutionary developmental psychology, an emerging subdiscipline of evolutionary approaches to human behavior and cognition, focuses on the adaptive nature of psychological mechanisms built into the brains of juveniles, some of which may serve immediate demands at different stages of development, and some of which serve preparatory roles for maturity. The current article reviews some of the central ideas of evolutionary developmental psychology and investigates how human educability, which is qualitatively different from the learning capacity of other species, is governed by specific adaptations of Homo sapiens' childhood that serve to orient the young child to his or her cultural environment. Evolutionary developmental psychology, we argue, can be especially informative to educational policy makers who wish to take children's natural limitations, as well as their intellectual pliability, into account when planning curricula.     

Child development and evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary developmental psychology involves the expression of evolved, epigenetic programs, as described by the developmental systems approach, over the course of ontogeny. There have been different selection pressures on organisms at different times in ontogeny, and some characteristics of infants and children were selected in evolution to serve an adaptive function at that time in their life history rather than to prepare individuals for later adulthood. Examples of such adaptive functions of immaturity are provided from infancy, play, and cognitive development. Most evolved psychological mechanisms are proposed to be domain specific in nature and have been identified for various aspects of children's cognitive and social development, most notably for the acquisition of language and for theory of mind. Differences in the quality and quantity of parental investment affect children's development and influence their subsequent reproductive and childcare strategies. Some sex differences observed in childhood, particularly as expressed during play, are seen as antecedents and preparations for adult sex differences. Because evolved mechanisms were adaptive to ancestral environments, they are not always adaptive for contemporary people, and this mismatch of evolved mechanisms with modern environments is seen in children's maladjustment to some aspects of formal schooling. We argue that an evolutionary perspective can be valuable for developing a better understanding of human ontogeny in contemporary society and that a developmental perspective is important for a better understanding of evolutionary psychology.     

常态与变态——艺术创作心理探析

艺术家的创作是一种复杂的心理活动。我们常常只注意到常态心理在这个过程中的重要作用,而忽略了变态心理亦以其非理性的强烈的情感和独创性对创作的巨大推动作用。事实上,在艺术创造过程中,常态心理和变态心理是相互交织、相互渗透、相互转化,二者相辅相成,不可或缺。     

Identifying the costs and benefits of educational psychology: a preliminary exploration in two local authorities

This article provides an account of a small-scale pilot study of the cost and perceived benefits of the educational psychology services in two comparably small local authorities in England. This study is preparatory to a more detailed examination of the costs and likely benefits of state provision of educational psychology services in England. The work is contextualised by acknowledgement of the growing pressure on local authority services to trade and for schools to directly commission the services of educational psychologists. Provisional findings indicate significant differences between the impact of the two services that participated. The authors offer speculation on the effects for local authorities and schools, and ways in which the study might be developed to provide more satisfactory answers to the questions of “what is the value of educational psychology in practice” and “how best to deploy educational psychology services?”     

无英语学习动机学生的心理及对策

指出无英语学习动机学生的心理：畏枯燥心理、被束缚心理、畏难心理与归属感缺失心理,并提供相应的应对策略,以使这类学生产生学习动机,从而帮助他们加入班级的主流群体。在众对策中,激发学生的思维与了解各个后进生的最近发展区的大小至为重要,激发思维能使学生自然而然习得英语,而同水平后进生的最近发展区的范围不同,需要教师去了解才能因材施教。     

A historical overview of educational psychology

A historical review of educational psychology might improve understanding of current status and problems. Before American development of the field, the Greeks, Juan Vives in the 16th century, and Pestalozzi and Herbart in the 19th century applied psychological views to educational problems. Despite the absence of scientific psychology in 19th century America, normal schools offered courses purporting to be psychological in content; these courses were supported by textbooks on the subject. James began, and Thorndike developed, the discipline that by the mid-1920s had assumed much of its current form. Journals and academic departments appeared in the first quarter of the century also. The continuing search through the middle of the century for a satisfying professional organization reflected educational psychology's difficulties in establishing an identity. It is not clear even today that the field has “crystallized,” as one writer described it in the 1920s.     

School psychology: The continuing search

This article describes the development of school psychology as a continuing search for identity and professional recognition. This search has led it to identity primarily with psychology at the expense of involvement and concern with the broad issues of educational development. Internal differences have exacerbated school psychology's difficulty in maturing. A suggestion for increased emphasis on learning and a decreased emphasis on mental health issues is offered.     

复杂思维视野下的教育心理学立场

学科立场与知识本身的客观差异和聚类性存在有关,与从事某一领域知识研究的人及其知识信仰有关,更与研究者的思维方式有关。复杂思维视野下的教育心理学学科立场是：教育学是教育心理学的母系学科之一;教育学和教育心理学互为彼此的发展基础;教育心理学的研究方法是多元综合的,方法与研究对象具有恰切性;教育学和教育心理学相互吸取养料,共枝繁,同叶茂;双方对此都要有清晰的认识。     

The professional practice of educational psychology

This paper discusses the potential for the field of educational psychology to move beyond psychology-applied-to-education to develop a unique professional practice component. We argue that many of the things educational psychologists are trained to do and have been doing for years fall within the service provider domain. Educational psychology is the only subfield of psychology to focus on the design of instructional systems, and many valuable psychological services derived from the knowledge base of instruction are worthy of professional recognition. We also discuss components of professional training for educational psychologists.     

发展性心理健康教育：从理念到实践

发展性心理健康教育着眼于学生心理的可持续发展,体现为学生自助助人能力的提高.文章论述了发展性心理健康教育的内涵要求和理论基础,提出了实施发展性心理健康教育可以从以下三个方面入手,即构建“自助助人”的心理健康教育课程体系、开展“朋辈互助式”的发展性心理辅导和实施“情理交融”的心理主题教育活动.     

Educational psychology within teacher education

In a context where the role of the teacher and teacher education are undergoing considerable change, the role of educational psychology in teacher preparation is discussed within a new framework. Educational psychology is now perceived as an inherent component within teacher training and professional development, having previously been an additional course and often considered irrelevant to teaching practice. The current paper discusses the relationship between educational psychology and teacher preparation. Educational psychology's contribution to teachers' professional development is delineated through the constructs of teachers' prior beliefs about teaching, reflective practice and self‐efficacy, while its contribution to the improvement of teacher–pupil interaction is viewed through the lenses of instruction theories, social and emotional learning, special educational needs and classroom management. It is argued that through a productive dialectic dialogue between educational psychology and education, educational psychology provides the knowledge defined by its field to be utilized by teachers, whereas at the same time, teachers gain a wider reconceptualization of their practice.     

关于音乐教育心理学研究方法的思考

通过对当前音乐教育心理学的发展现状的分析指出,音乐教育心理学已经成为音乐心理学的一个重要组成部分,对音乐教育心理学研究方法的思考具有现实意义。当今我国音乐教育心理学研究一方面亟需加强“量的研究”,另一方面必须重视“质的研究”,在教育实践中采用行动研究模式将两者有机地结合是实际有效的研究方法。     

Implications of cognitive psychology for educational testing

The purpose of this review is to examine views about learning and the learner grounded in cognitive psychology and to discuss their implications for educational testing. The new perspectives about learning and the learner suggested by cognitive psychology imply changes in educational testing. The first part of this paper compares perspectives about learning and the learner in cognitive psychology with traditional perspectives. The second part describes its implications for educational testing. The goals of educational testing should be the improvement of learning and instruction, achieving these goals in the real society, and a symbiotic relationship between cognitive psychologists and traditionalists in educational testing.     

A critical comparison of transformation and deep approach theories of learning

This paper reports a critical comparative analysis of two popular and significant theories of adult learning: the transformation and the deep approach theories of learning. These theories are operative in different educational sectors, are significant, respectively, in each, and they may be seen as both touching on similar concerns with learning that is profound in its nature and impact on the learner—hence the case for a critical comparison. The critical analysis focused on similarities and differences between the two theories on a set of general criteria. It found that, while there are unacknowledged similarities, the differences are complementary, each theory suggesting a different way of considering the same territory, without excluding the other theory. The analysis strongly suggests the imperative for research findings from each theory to be used to inform practice and research through the other, although the literature reveals a lack of such cross-fertilization.     

Educational psychology and the reform of teacher education

Benton and Hoyt (1989) perform a service for educational psychology by obtaining empirical evidence about educational psychologists' reactions to changes in teacher education proposed by the Holmes Group and the Carnegie Commission. Their paper should serve to stimulate debate about the proper role of educational psychology in teacher education. In this paper, we challenge the empirical findings reported by Benton and Hoyt and suggest reasons why the findings may misrepresent educational psychologists' interest in teacher education. We argue that some of the Holmes and Carnegie recommendations contradict the emerging consensus among cognitive psychologists about the contextually bound nature of knowledge. Benton and Hoyt conceptualize educational psychology according to the traditional middleperson viewpoint and make recommendations with respect to educational psychology that presume this conceptualization. We counter that the middleperson viewpoint is being made obsolete by changes in psychology, and describe an alternative conception of educational psychology. This alternative conception leads to a set of alternative recommendations about the appropriate role of educational psychology in the reform of teacher education.     

Continuities and discontinuities: Future directions for research in educational psychology

The purpose of this article is to suggest future directions for research in educational psychology as we enter our second hundred years of psychology in America. The basic theme is that there are both continuities and discontinuities in our development from the early days of Hall, Thorndike, James, and Dewey to the current multiplicity of perspectives represented in educational psychology. Eight issues are presented that will guide future research directions. They include. (a) specifying basic constructs; (b) developing integrative models and linkages between constructs; (c) returning to the problems of acquisition, learning, and transfer; (d) applying models from the sciences and mathematics; (e) dealing with the discontinuity of contextual and cultural models; (0 including content and disciplinary perspectives; (g) adapting to diversity; and (h) developing multiple perspectives an the unit of analysis issue. The article concludes with a call for the allowance of multiple perspectives and multiple possible selves for educational psychologists while maintaining a commitment to psychological models and the improvement of education.     

Perspectives on educational psychology

As a background, the views are presented of Jean Jacques Rousseau, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Friedrich Froebel, and Johann Friedrich Herbart, who had a five-step proposal for teaching. I then review briefly the new psychology of G. Stanley Hall and William James, followed by trends in psychology and education in the early twentieth century. The influences of psychoanalysis and Gestalt psychology are addressed, as well as the development of educational psychology textbooks and the growth of instructional psychology.