What is Scope and Function of Educational Psychology?

Scope of Educational Psychology

Because of ongoing study in this discipline, the breadth of educational psychology is expanding all the time. The scope of educational psychology will be indicated by the following factors:

  • The Learner: The study of educational psychology revolves around the learner. As a result, there is a need to know the learner and the approaches to understanding him effectively. The themes covered include people’s natural talents and capabilities, individual differences and their measures, the learner’s overt, covert, conscious and unconscious behaviour, the features of his growth and development, and each stage from childhood to maturity.
  • The Learning Experiences: Educational Psychology assists in determining what learning experiences are desirable, at what point of the learner’s growth and development, so that these experiences may be gained with more ease and enjoyment.
  • Learning process: Educational Psychology carries on to the rules, principles, and theories of learning after getting to know the learner and selecting what learning experiences to deliver. Other aspects of the learning process include remembering and forgetting, perceiving, idea formulation, thinking and reasoning, problem solving, learning transfer, effective learning methods, and so on.
  • Learning Situation or Environment: We are concerned with environmental elements and learning circumstances that occur between the learner and the teacher. Classroom atmosphere and group dynamics, tactics and aids that assist learning and evaluation, techniques and practises, advice and counselling, and so on are all covered. To ensure that the teaching-learning process runs smoothly.
  • The Teacher: In every method of teaching and learning, the teacher is a powerful force. It discusses the teacher’s role. It highlights the need of a teacher ‘knowing oneself’ in order to fulfil his or her function appropriately in the educational process. His internal struggles and motivation. Anxiety, adjustment, aspiration level, and so forth. It sheds light on the fundamental personality features, interests, aptitudes, effective teaching characteristics, and so on in order to encourage him to become a good teacher.
  • It studies Human Behaviour in educational situations: Because psychology is the study of behaviour and education is concerned with the modification of behaviour, educational psychology encompasses the whole area of education.
  • It studies the Growth and Development of the child: Educational psychology is the study of how a child progresses through the many stages of development and the characteristics of each stage.
  • The amount to which Heredity and Environment contribute to the development of the person, and how this information can be used to bring about the optimal development of the child, are prominent features of the scope of educational psychology.
  • Educational psychology deals with the Nature and Development of the Personality of an individual.
  • It studies Individual Difference: Every individual is distinct from the next. It is one of the fundamental realities of human nature that educational psychology has shown. This one truth has transformed the notion and method of education.

Functions of Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is used in the educational process from birth to death. As a result, it serves several purposes:

  • Helps the teacher in understanding the child: Educational psychology informs teachers on the psychological makeup of their students. A teacher cannot educate a youngster until he is familiar with him. Once he understands the child, he will be able to influence the youngster’s behaviour such that he becomes a benefit to himself and society.
  • Helps in framing the child Centred curriculum: The child is seen as the centre around which all educational activities must revolve. Curriculum is the path that various activities take. Psychology assists teachers in developing such curricula.
  • Helps in planning education for child: Proper educational planning distinguishes a competent educational system. After analysing the child’s capacity, proper planning may be done. Using IQ tests, the instructor can analyse the child’s capacity.
  • Helps in locating individual difference among the children: A competent educational system accommodates children’s unique differences. It is a fundamental principle of psychology that each individual is unique in both his psychological and physiological makeup. Even twins do not have all of the same qualities. Personality diversity is a psychological truth. As a result, the instructor must teach while bearing in mind the fact that the classroom is diverse in character. His teaching technique should meet the demands of all types of pupils.
  • Helps in becoming a good teacher: Educational psychology helps him to understand the characteristics of a good teacher. As a result, he becomes aware of his own limitations. Educational psychology also allows him to understand his difficulties, analyse them, and fix them to his satisfaction, allowing him to become a successful teacher.
  • Helps in evaluation: Teaching alone is insufficient on the part of the instructor. He will assess his ability to pass on information to his offspring. He will also assess how much the kids have profited. Both of these can be determined through assessment. Educational psychology teaches him how to assess well.