AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY| Nature of Educational Psychology

Educational Psychology b.ed notes

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

The aims and objectives of educational psychology may be stated as "the development of wholesome personality" and "continuous growth" through :

(1) "increasing ability for intelligent self-direction in the changing social order" and

(2) "increasing ability for discriminative social functioning".

The aim is to help the teacher in understanding the human nature. This knowledge of the human nature will lead to the growth of the children and will help in the directing of the learning activities.

The children, by getting proper guidance, will be able to adapt themselves to the social environment and will be able to discharge their social responsibilities.

Educational Psychology, thus, aims at the harmonious growth and rightful conduct of the children.

Educational Psychology aims at aiding the teacher in providing facts and generalization in his task of helping the child to develop the harmonious personality.

The specific aims and objectives of educational psychology may be summarized as follows:

 

(1) To develop proper attitudes in the teacher about the educational problems.

The teacher learns the proper method of imparting instructions.

He gets knowledge as to what extent learning can be acquired by the child or the extent to which the social behaviour can be improved or personality adjusted.

(2) To assist the teacher to set-up appropriate educational situations so that changes in the behaviour of the children are to be brought out towards desirable goals.

The teacher, who has a knowledge of the desirable behaviour which is required of a child, will take up such teaching matter to teach and adopt such teaching procedures which will bring out the changes in his behaviour towards such ends.

(3) To help the teachers in treating their pupils with sympathy and understanding and to study their behaviour objectively.

A teacher, who is impartial and sympathetic is the best person who can analyse the behaviour of the child.

 

(4) To help the teacher in organizing the material to be taught to the child.

The teacher selects and organizes the subject-matter properly by having an insight into the children's mental make-up.

(5) To help the teacher in this realization that the social relationship are of utmost importance in the process of education.

The teacher by organizing proper activities promotes among his children the social sense.

He aids and co-operates in the student's participation in group activities

(6) To help the teacher in understanding his own job.

Educational Psychology provides an insight into the problems which the teacher has to face in his profession.

It develops in him a scientific attitude of problem-solving pertaining to the problems of education faced by him.

(7) To provide the teacher with such information and techniques that he can analyse his own and others' behaviour. This analysis is essential for his adjustment of personality.

He can also help and assist others in their growth and adjustment of personality.

 

(8) To help the teacher in providing proper guidance programmes by having an understanding of the individual differences of the children

(9) To guide the administrators in the organization and administration of the educational institutions and to provide a scientific basis for the supervision of instruction.

(10) To provide sound methods of measuring and evaluating the achievement of the pupils objectively and to make assessment of the native intelligence of the children. And lastly

(11) To furnish him with the proper methods of a teaching the subject-matter to the child.

The various teaching procedures are put in practice in teaching the child and those which are found psychologically sound are recommended for his use.

AREAS OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

According to Lindgren there are three focal areas in education that concern educational psychologists and teachers—the learner, the learning process and the learning situation

 

The Learner

• In educational process the learner occupies the most important place. There can be no teaching without there being a learner.
• By the learner we mean the pupils who individually or collectively comprise the class-room group.
• The teaching in the class room to a great extent depends on the personalities, developmental stages and psychosocial problems of the students.
• Hence, for effective teaching a knowledge of these and many other qualities and potentialities of the learner are needed. 
• With all these the educational psychology keeps its deepest concern.

The Learning Process

• According to Lindgren the learning process is "the process by which people acquire changes in their behaviour, improve performance, reorganize their thinking, or discover new ways of behaving and new concepts and information." 
• In fact, whatever people do when they learn may be described as the learning process.
• This process may be directly observable as while the pupils learn writing, computing, talking, etc., or may be indirectly observable as in perceiving thinking, remembering.
• The concern of the educational psychologists is with the way in which thie learning process takes place.
• They wish to find out as to what happens when an individual learns, why he learns, what teachers want him to learn and what teachers do not want him to learn.

The Learning Situation

 

• This refers to the environment in which the learner finds himself and in which the learning process takes place.
• The teacher's attitude, the class-room setting, the emotional climate of the school and the interest the community takes in the school affairs may all orm the part of the learning situation.
• In fact, all those situational factors and personal factors around which learning takes place are ingredients of the learning situation.
• Now in certain situation learning is facilitated as when the teacher have affectionate attitude, the class-rooms are well-ventilated and seats are comfortable, while in others learning is inhibited as when the teacher is very harsh, the community is unsympathetic and school surroundings are shabby.
• The educational psychologist is interested in finding out in which situations learning is facilitated and in which it is inhibited and why and also how good learning situation can be created?

Learning and Teaching b.ed notes in English

NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

 

• The psychology is a science which studies all the aspects of human-behaviour.
• It is concerned with the reasons of human behaviour and with those principles which may predict a behaviour and bring modifications it modify behaviour.
• In this sense both education and psychology are similar.
• From the fusion of psychology and education we get that branch of psychology which we call as Educational Psychology.
• Hence, educational psychology is the study of human-behaviour as it is influenced by the social processes.
• Educational Psychology also studies those processes which provide an understanding of the way in which the modification are brought in the behaviour.
• Educational Psychology provides a base to education.
• It studies the problems which crop up in the education of the children.
• Educational Psychology has primary concern with a viewpoint, with the organisation of information and with a group of techniques and activities for a sound education.
• It is an area of experiment, not a collection of specific subject-matter.
• Through this subject the contents, techniques and ways of functioning of psychology are applied in the solution of the problems of the class-room.
• It may be remembered that educational psychology is not, merely general psychology applied to educational problems. It has its own applied theory.
• This theory is as basic as the theory underlying the discipline of psychology. But, it is not so general as the psychological theory and has direct relevance to the problems of education.