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ERIC Number: EJ876499
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0965-948X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
"By the End of the Course All Students Should Know...": Setting Coherent Aims for the Teaching of Psychology in School, College and University
Rowley, Martin
Psychology Teaching Review, v14 n2 p51-54 2008
As J. Radford (2008) points out in "Psychology in its place," the question of what role psychology should play in Higher Education is merely a subsection of the question, what is (Higher) Education for? In light of the large number of psychology undergraduates who do not go on to pursue careers in psychology, Radford argues cogently for a re-evaluation of the content and purpose of the psychology degree. This article presents the author's response to J. Radford's paper. This brief response goes further to examine the coherence of the current provision for studying psychology in post-compulsory education in the UK, and to ask whether the time has come to think more widely about the role psychology could play in the education of all children in the UK, through its inclusion in the compulsory school curriculum. There are practical problems involved with introducing psychology into the compulsory school curriculum and, justifiably, teachers will say that the curriculum is already too crowded. The author stresses that it is possible, therefore, that greater integration of psychology into the school curriculum could have the effect of reducing the gender imbalance. In Radford's terms, the teachers' challenge is to decide how the discipline of psychology should be presented by psychology the subject at each educational level, taking into account the aims of the course, the aspirations of the students and, at higher levels, the requirements of professional bodies. In presenting a coherent picture of the discipline of psychology to their students, teachers should ensure that, even at more basic levels, the subject of psychology emphasises the scientific nature of psychology the discipline.
British Psychological Society, Division for Teachers & Researchers in Psychology. St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR, UK. Tel: +44-1162-529551; Fax: +44-1162-271314; e-mail: directmail@bps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.bps.org.uk/ptr
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A