Discuss The Scope Of Educational Psychology

There are many factors that can influence a child and young person’s development, particularly in relation to their background. The formative years can be termed as crucial in regards to development and any major setback can create many problems for the future.

According to the author Smidt (2013), childhood is a social construct which means that the ideas of childhood life consists of what is determined by the adults. She also stated that children lives are represented through culture and group change. However, the changes can occur over a period of time, place and circumstances of the child. As I read chapter one, I was impressed about the author views concerning early child development. The characteristics of development recognized by Smidt (2013), was how prenatal development of the fetus can change over time before birth. The child’s mother can contribute to the changes, through the economic and culture factors. Therefore, this can also influence the environment during the prenatal stages.

The purpose of this assignment is to closely observe the development of a child through an interview and apply the theories and concept of child development in his particular cultural and educational context. I selected the child who lives in my neighborhood for the interview and began with seeking the permission from his parents. The child’s name is ‘Abdullah’ and he is seven years old. He lives with his family in Terre Haute and his family consists of parents and two sisters. Abdullah goes to Sugar Grove Elementary School in the Terre Haute city along with his two sisters and he is in grade 2. The interview was conducted at his home and I ensured his convenience. He was cooperative and provided insightful responses to the questions and he provided significant detail in the interview. I was able to track his development stages and connect it to different theories of Developmental Psychology including psychoanalytical perspectives and Piaget’s stages of development. In the following paragraphs, I will explain my observations about Abdullah’s development in the light of developmental theories with special focus on cognitive, social, linguistic, and emotional development followed by making connections between his socioeconomic and cultural background and development. Lastly, I will conclude paper by highlighting that the observations during the interview can facilitate my future practice as a teacher.

​When I declared a psychology major during the second year of my undergraduate career, my objective was to attend medical school and eventually become a psychiatrist. I enjoyed the psychology classes in which I was enrolled and found them to compliment the premed curriculum I also wanted to study. I reasoned that a major in psychology would provide insight that could later be useful in my planned studies of psychiatry. Although I decided against going to medical school, psychology remained the primary area of focus of my studies with the ultimate career goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. While my long term professional plans include achieving a PhD and becoming a clinical psychologist. Pursuing a masters degree in

This paper has presented an argument on how a child’s development is strongly influenced by environmental and cultural influences as well as parenting styles and education. Children begin to learn and experiment with social skills at school, allowing them to learn and understand social skills necessary for later life in life. Children who receive schooling at an early age perform better later in academics. I hope that by teaching in the ways that I described will help me accomplish this. I want my classroom of students to be excited to come to my class everyday to learn something that I hope will impact them for the rest of their lives. I want my classroom to be a very caring environment. I want my students to feel important and smart and to influence them to be the best that they can be. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior of human beings. Some areas

Development of a child have been a thing that most of the parents have been neglecting without noticing that it is very important in the development of a child’s character and social

The field of psychology is steadily expanding due to the progression in technology, which is being driven by the advancement of civilization. More and more time is spent on the internet, which has gradually altered the method in which primary communication takes place. Previously face-to-face interaction was touted as the primary method of interfacing with one another, now communication via the internet is almost mandatory to establish and maintain healthy relationships (Greenfield and Yan, 2006). This is especially true amongst children, adolescents and teenagers. The need for psychologists have never been greater in order to assess how individuals are able to acclimate to this societal change. Traditionally, there are two methods in which children, adolescents and teenagers communicate via the internet, through social media and video games. Each primary method presents their own unique social challenge. In response to the issues in of teenagers over use of the internet, psychologists are providing assistance for internet addictions at a greater rate. The first method utilized by mental health professionals is traditionally counseling and if those efforts fail, then the potential exists for adolescents to be placed on medications.

There were contextual forces as well as work in America to foster the growth of applied psychology. The number of people with a Ph. D. in psychology rose and there were not enough academic positions to employ them, and when one attained a teaching job many administrations did not value (or fund) psychology programs. As psychology was a newest science when compared to physics and chemistry…received smallest financial support, so need to proof that psychology is useful in solving social, educational and industrial problem in order to improve budgets. An emerging societal problem was a dramatic increase in public school enrollment, which opened doors for some psychologists. Thus, the focus of psychology shifted towards the application in solving real-world problem.

The psychology theorists of the past have shaped the classrooms of the present. There are many theorists that have affected the teaching styles of today and a theorist that has had a major impact is Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky’s work interests me much because his concepts and ideas encompass many of the ways in which teachers teach in today’s classrooms. The ideas he presented have contoured the strategies of teachers. It is interesting to look into the reasons why teachers have adopted some of the strategies they use and many of those reasons are formed from the original ideas of Vygotsky.

One of the more popular areas of psychology is Educational Psychology. Educational Psychology can be explained several ways. The idea is to study theories and concepts from different parts of psychology and apply them in educational settings. These educational settings may occur in different school settings such as preschool. The goal of educational psychology is to create a positive student-teacher relationship. Educational psychology uses five different types of psychology, behavioral, cognitive, developmental, and social cognitive, and constructivist in this research paper I will be briefly discussing each type of psychology listed above.

Over the course of this semester, I have had the opportunity to learn about educational psychology. I have always enjoyed psychology and was especially interested in how it applied to teaching in the classroom. There were five specific concepts we discussed over the semester that especially interested me. I found that homogenous and heterogeneous grouping, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, operant conditioning, cooperative learning, and divergent versus convergent thinking are five psychological concepts that every teacher should learn about in preparation for teaching.

The children construct their knowledge – knowledge is not transferred but is personally constructed the learning meditated. The knowledge is not transferring from one mind to another mind, but it is personally constructed in child mind. Teachers were taught something in the class; child would analyze and remembers about it, critically, creatively, and systematically. The child would likes to improve the skill help of the teacher, parents, adults, and peers. The society is help to improve the child knowledge, when child is walking through the street it interactions with the others, and get information’s. The cognitive development is not direct result of activity but it is indirect. Cognitive development in child it is very important. Cognitive development child learns from society as well as interaction between each other, introduce the new tools among them and in group, with the support of group child will increase his knowledge. The cognitive development is important role in child life from knowledge child gets information about either bad or

“You cannot predict the outcome of human development .All you can do like a farmer create the conditions under which it wellbeing flourish"(Robinson.K.2001)This essay will discussed social , family and environmental influences on human development ,across in whole life-span .And relate three theorist 's respective concepts including Vygotsky ,Bronfenbrenner and Bowlby who has made great contributions in early childhood education ,combined their theory as well give more conclusion .

Educational Psychology fosters an understanding for student development and helps teachers be effective, design lessons and make a difference for their students. First we must define what education psychology is, and how it applies student development and to the education community. The textbook, “Educational Psychology” written by Anita Woolfolk, (2012), defines educational psychology as, “A distinct discipline with its own theories, research methods, problems, and techniques. Educational psychologists do research on learning and teaching and, at the same time, work to improve educational practice.” (p. 12). Essentially, educational psychology is the study and research behind creative and effective learning strategies and the principles for development and learning. It enables teachers to reach and engage their students at the highest level of learning with effective learning strategies. Learning educational psychology through the study of cognitive development and the influences on children and adolescents as they grow, the implication of moral and identity development, as well as obligations teachers have professionally to create safe learning environments that promote high expectations and inclusion of all learners, helps teachers to nurture and understand their students. For example, learning about student diversity and culture, characteristics, learning levels, how to design and present content, enhance classroom management creating a safe effective learning