OEP 311 Module Topic One (Four lectures) Title: Introduction to Educational Psychology and research in Educational Psychology Content
OEP 311 Module Topic One (Four lectures)
Title: Introduction to Educational Psychology and research in Educational Psychology
Content:
• Definition of Psychology
• Objectives of psychology
• History of Psychology
• Branches of Psychology
• Suggested Readings
• Definition of educational psychology
• Objectives (Functions) of educational psychology
• History of Educational psychology
• Experimental Research
• Field Trip
• Single Case Study
• Correlational study
• Descriptive Study:
• Action Research
Introduction:
Welcome to the world of psychology. This course is on Educational Psychology. However, knowledge on General Psychology is a prerequisite of understanding the specialized field of Educational Psychology. As you know general psychology is a course of its own. The part of this topic is just going to give a broad view of the field of psychology so that you can embark on Educational Psychology more comfortably.
One branch not purposively mentioned in the first part is Educational Psychology. This whole course is on this branch and I know you are ready and looking forward to engaging yourself in this area of specialization not only for the sake of passing your exams (which is very nice) but also for developing skills that you will apply as an effective teacher. The last part of the topic we look at methods used Educational Psychology to determine its content and thereafter, application in the learning/teaching processes.
Objectives:
At the end of this topic the student will be able to:
• Define psychology
• Describe the main objectives of psychology
• Narrate a brief history of psychology
• Describe the main branches of psychology
• define Educational Psychology
• narrate a brief history of Educational Psychology
• state the main objectives of Educational Psychology
• Describe and identify the components of laboratory experiments
• Describe and identify randomized field experiments
• Describe and identify single-case study.
• Describe Correlational study.
• Define descriptive research and action research.
Body
DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY
In short, the subject matter of psychology is behaviour and mental processes. But there are other many fields including political science, religion, astrology, witchcraft, fortune telling, literature, economics, law and sociology (just to mention a few) that deal with human behaviours. Psychology is different from these other fields since it uses scientific approaches in studying behaviour and mental processes. So, psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.
Scientific approach is based on empirical evidence that is obtained objectively and can be verified. Also there is use of measurements. Psychology tries to use scientific approach in understanding the nature behaviour and the functioning of mental processes. Explanations of behaviour based on scientific approach are more credible than those based on mere speculations. Some of questions related to education addressed by psychology include how do children learn? Why do student differ in performance? What are best approaches of controlling classroom? How can we reduce aggressive behaviours in our schools? Other disciplines like medicine, business, health, industries and vocations have questions that are also addressed by psychology.
The above questions imply behaviour is a very broad concept. Some behaviours are manifested externally and can be observed directly e.g. walking, singing, writing, and climbing a tree. However, some of behaviors are internal and can only be inferred e.g. thinking, being happy and hating an object. As you will soon see in the definition the concept “study” is also very broad as it includes describing, understanding, and predicting behaviour.
MAIN AREAS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Human behaviour is very broad with many components that are affected by many variables. So as to manage to understand the content of psychology, it is divided broadly into four main areas, namely physical, cognitive, emotions and the environment.
Physical aspect is the body of the individual i.e. muscles, skeleton, glands and sensory systems. This implies that biological processes have influence on our behaviour e.g. hunger makes us to look for food and eat (behaviour); females can bear children while males cannot, and writing involves coordination of eyes and muscles in the arm.
The area of cognitive in psychology focuses on mental activities that include memory, thinking, problem solving and language. (You know that brain is part of the physical body, thus there is a connection between body and cognitive processes). Cognitive component is responsible for the understanding of us and the environment, which results in capabilities and behaviours that we use to manipulate environment for development.
Emotions are the feelings that we have as our reaction to an object or event. These feelings can either be pleasant or unpleasant. Pleasant feelings include being happy, falling in love, laughing; and unpleasant feelings include being angry, sad, fear and happiness. Emotions make us human (different from machines and innate objects), and colour our lives (happy in a ceremony and sad when we lose a loved one) and affect our behaviour (in form of reacting and acting on our emotions). There is a direct connection between emotions and the brain, and between emotions and the physical body.
The environment (physical environment) has effect on our behaviour in that it provides us with the necessities to survive (air, food and water), it limits or enhances our behaviours and potentials (think of learning environment). People around us (social environment) have direct influence on us for they take care of the young ones (who cannot look for food or fend off negative elements in the environment, babies cannot survive without the support of the caregivers); on the language we acquire and in shaping our behaviours through socialization processes.
These major areas of studying psychology are interrelated and do not act in isolation of the others. For example, the environment affects us (emotionally, mentally, physiologically, socially and behaviour wise) and we also have some influence on the environment be it physical or social. When we see food we like we salivate, decide to approach the vendor, buy the food, and then enjoy while eating it. Such an act is simple and yet complex as it affects the life of the vendor, food processing, production of food and impact on the environment. These areas also indicate that psychology is also related to other disciplines such as biology, sociology, economics, education, environmental science, anthropology, medicine and geography. However, you must be aware of the boundaries between psychology and the other fields.
OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGY
This subtopic is an elaboration of the term ‘study’ in the definition of psychology. There are four objectives of studying psychology, namely to describe behaviour, understand behaviour, predict behaviour and to control behaviour.
• Describe: the first objective of psychology is to describe how behaviour occurs.
• Understand: the second objective is to determine the causes of behaviour.
• Predict: after describing and understand the causes of behavior we are able to predict how one will behave under certain conditions.
• Control: the forth objective of psychology is to influence the behaviour of individuals.
As a teacher you like to know what Bahati is doing and how is doing it (describe); then know why is s/he acting like that (cause); will s/he do the same in the future (predict)?; and finally what can be done to maintain/eliminate the behaviour (control).
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
Issues relating to human behaviour have been of concern to human beings since the beginning of history. For a long time people have tried to address the mind –body problem, and yet they have not come up with a complete satisfactory answer. Matters relating to behaviour have been a subject matter in theology and philosophy (refer to the books of religion and writings of philosophers such as Plato and Socrates).
Psychology as an independent field started in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt established a laboratory (read scientific approach) at Leipzig to study the structure of the mind (a subject matter of psychology). He wanted to find the basic elements of thinking, consciousness and other mental functions. Before then most of these issues related to behaviour had been based on speculation. So, the psychology is acknowledged to have been started in that year because of the use of scientific method to describe a psychological phenomenon.
Now we let us look at different perspectives that underpin the history of psychology. These theoretical perspectives indicate the way psychologists have explained the subject matter of psychology over the time. The perspectives have been influenced by the way people explain their experiences based on the realities of that period. So, each perspective has been influenced by the previous perspectives and they in turn influence the future perspectives. Each perspective has contributed in psychology and consequently better understanding of human development. However, it is worth noting that no single perspective in psychology can explain all aspects of human behaviour. In this lecture we are only briefly mentioning some of these perspectives. Their impact on education will be discussed later in more details in the relevant lectures.
Structuralism
The first school of thought in psychology is called structuralism. Wilhelm Wundt (1932-1920) was trying to find the basic elements that form conscious sensations, feelings and images. He was influenced by the advances in physical sciences of time (the identification of atoms in physics and cells in biology). His main method of obtaining these elements was called introspection i.e. self observation. He trained his assistants to report verbally what they were sensing when presented with an object. For example, an assistant will hold a banana and report what he experienced in term of his sensation. The main limitation of introspection was lack of objectively in that results could not be independently verified. The trained persons on introspection frequently gave conflicting sensations on the same object leading to misunderstandings among themselves.
Functionalism
This school of thought was formed in USA by William James who was influenced by Charles Darwin’s concept of natural selection i.e. survival for the fittest. He believed that psychology should investigate the functions or purposes of consciousness and not the structure of consciousness as advocated by Wundt. The interest was on how peoples’ behaviour functions to adopt the demands of the real world around them. Based on this perspective John Dewey developed the first school of psychology and the best ways of meeting educational needs of children.
Psychodynamic
The major force under this perspective was a physician called Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). He was born in Vienna and later on moved to USA. His theory is based on the observations he made when treating people with psychological disorders. He relied on interpretations he made on the meanings of the dreams, fears and thoughts of his clients. He postulated that there is interplay between mental processes and behaviour, thus the concept psychodynamics. He asserted that most of our actions are controlled by our minds as result of the way we unconsciously think, feel and wish. Thus, the unconsciousness component of us has more influence on us than the consciousness component. Sometimes there is a conflict between the motives of our feelings, thoughts and wishes leading into a conflict within us. He believed that these conflicts have no physical basis but have a strong impact on the way we live. The main contribution of this perspective is the acknowledgment of the importance of childhood experiences on the quality of life in later years; and the role of psychology in treating people with psychological problems through therapy.
Behaviourism
This school of thought originated in the USA and was a modification of functionalism. The behaviorists believe that one cannot objectively observe and verify processes that take place in the mind of a person. They rejected introspection and other methods used in psychoanalysis as not being truly scientific. Instead they proposed that psychology should only focus on observable behavior and the environmental conditions that have influence on how human beings behave. The methods of research in psychology should be the same as those used in other sciences. B.F. Skinner (1904 –1990) is the best known behaviorist who observed that behaviour of an organism can be controlled by the manipulation of the environment. Behaviorists insist that behaviour is controlled by its consequences. If behaviour is followed by reinforcement then it will be repeated under the same conditions. However, if it is followed by punishment the likelihood of it reoccurring under the same conditions decreases. Behaviourism was the major force in psychology between 1950 and 1970 and was adapted in approaches of learning and teaching. The main limitation of behaviorism was that it ignored mental processes which are also very important in influencing behaviour.
Cognitive Perspectives
Gestalt
Gestalt is a German word meaning “whole” or “pattern”. This perspective was postulated by three Germans who had immigrated to USA. For them human behaviour cannot solely be explained by behaviour alone or reduced into single elements as explained by the behaviorists. They were also against the notion that humans are passive to the environment. They believed that humans are rather active in gaining experiences from the environment. Gestalt psychologists put more emphasis on mental processes i.e. how we organize sensory information into meaningful state through perception, memory and thinking. Based on a number of experiments they proposed that brain automatically organizes sensory information into meaningful wholes.
Gestalt perspective can be considered as one of the foundation of cognitive perspective. Currently, more psychologists hold the cognitive perspective rather than the behavioral perspective. Cognitive psychologists hold that psychology should also include memory systems that have influence on how sensory information is received, processed, stored and retrieved or forgotten. Also they believe that traits related to mental functions such as emotions, memories, motivation and beliefs have effects on our behaviours and learning. It is safe to say that this perspective has been influenced by the development of computers.
Cognitive perspective
This perspective has evolved from structuralism and believes that most of human behaviour is rooted in the mind. They focus on people’s understanding of the world i.e. how they think, understand and think about the world around them.
BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
As the psychology has being growing it has created many areas of specialization within the field. There are several branches of psychology. However in this lecture we are only going to focus on a few that are closely related to education.
• Developmental Psychology studies the changes that occur as humans grow and develop. It describes how human body changes and how we adapt in these changes. For example, at which level of development do children recognize themselves, what is the sequence involved in walking and what do adolescence do in response to the physiological changes (puberty) occurring at this stage? Also developmental psychology describes cognitive and psychosocial changes of individual. It looks on aspects in the environment that have effect on the individual as s/he grows. Do children become aggressive or westernized because of watching television?
• Social Psychology looks at the interaction of the individual and the society i.e. how individual’s behaviour is affected by social factors. Topics under this area include socialization process, prejudice, peer pressure, mob justice and the way people view themselves and others.
• Cognitive Psychology. “Cognition” stems from the Latin word meaning "to know". Cognitive psychology investigates aspects of human cognition i.e. all our mental abilities and processes including perceiving, learning, remembering, thinking, reasoning, and understanding. It studies how people acquire and apply knowledge or information. It is closely related to other cognitive science and it is influenced by artificial intelligence, computer science, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, biology, physics, and neuroscience.
• School Psychology is a branch that applies principles of psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of children's and adolescents' behavioural and learning problems. School psychologists carry out psychological and psycho educational assessment; counseling; and consultation; and also in the ethical, legal and administrative codes in the teaching profession.
• Experimental Psychology is interested in using controlled experiments to study psychological processes. It looks at the human mental processes and behaviour using scientific method, research, experimentation and statistics.
• Counseling Psychology focuses on providing psychological therapy to individuals experiencing normal emotional, social, vocational, educational and developmental problems. Counseling psychologists are trained to have a variety of counseling skills.
• Clinical psychology is devoted to understanding and finding treatment to people experiencing serious emotional, mental and behaviour disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders and psychotic disorders. Clinical psychologists specialize in a few areas of the disorders and work in clinical setting.
WHAT IS EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY?
In the previous lecture we saw that psychology is a scientific study of behaviour and mental processes with several branches. Educational psychology is the branch that focuses on development of effective teaching techniques and assessing learners’ aptitudes and progress in learning process. It uses psychological knowledge to understand learning and teaching in educational. It incorporates and applies knowledge gained from other areas of psychology e.g. theories of human development are used by educational psychology to know how students develop and learn; and to understand the characteristics of learners at various stages; cognitive psychology when referring to reasoning and problem solving; school psychology in determining students’ abilities and the best ways and conditions necessary for individuals to realize their full potential. Knowledge from disciplines outside psychology contributes to educational psychology e.g. findings in neurosciences help us to understand how the brain works in relation to learning. Also research findings in educational psychology contribute to wide field of psychology and education in general e.g. in creating educational policies and developing curriculum based on characteristics of the learners.
Through this course you will find that the main factors on human learning settings are among the topics of educational psychology. These aspects include instructional design and application, curriculum development, special education, classroom management, use of technology in teaching and assessment of learners and their performance.
OBJECTIVES (FUNCTIONS) OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
In the previous lecture the first two objectives of psychology are to describe and understand behaviour. So, in educational psychology we want to describe and understand the nature and principles of learning. What is involved in the learning process? How do we learning at different stages of development? Which are the factors that enhance/hinder learning? Educational psychology aims at answering these kinds of questions by research.
Based on the knowledge gained above, educational psychology aims at designing strategies for guiding learners in learning. Students possess learning abilities and skills. Educational psychology guides students to use their existing skills more effectively and/or develop new skills.
Among the major responsibilities of a teacher is teaching. Some people have a notion that teaching is easy. The opposite is true; teaching is a very complex exercise. As expected, educational psychology provides teachers with methods and specific skills of teaching. These methods and skills are based on the outcomes of research findings and facilitate learning. Students do, and can learn alone. However, to meet the state educational goals learners need teachers with effective teaching skills.
Every learner in the classroom is unique. So, there are individual variations among learner in one single classroom, including learners being in different developmental stages (cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally), with different abilities, temperaments and learning skills. To master these variations educational psychology provides the teacher with the skills to identify individual learner processes and traits. An effective teacher creates a learning environment in the classroom that caters for the individual variation so that each learner is motivated to realize his/her full potentials.
The environment has great effect on learning process. Teachers can use the environment to enhance learning. Educational psychology trains teachers to identify and control these external factors. The external factors include the immediate environment and conditions, teaching materials available, research findings and new teaching skills; and technological advances.
You might be interested to become educational psychologist. To be one you need to have a graduate degree in educational psychology (it has many courses). Educational psychologist work as consultants, teach at universities and conduct research on cognitive, social processes of human development, learning and education. So, this course does not make one to be an educational psychologist but it motivates you to strive to be one.
I believe that if you meet the requirements of Educational Psychology, develop the teaching skills and apply them in learning settings you will be motivated to be an effective teacher who tackles teaching challenges with confidence and great satisfaction. And who is an effective teacher? Several books on educational psychology (Elliot et al. 2000; Santrock, 2004) point out that for one to be an effective teacher s/he must master the following concepts and perceptions (all included in this course):
Subject matter knowledge
This refers to having a conceptual understanding of the subject you teach. You must work hard not only to acquire the knowledge of your subject, but also to be able to organize this knowledge and be in position to include knowledge from related disciplines. Just knowing the facts is not enough. Too little knowledge leads to teacher’s lack of confidence in the classroom. Remember that you don’t have to teach all what you know since you may cause harm to the class! Material presented in the class should relate to the students’ abilities and the syllabus.
• Knowledge of students
You must know your students. It’s very difficult to deal with individuals whom you don’t know. As you spend time with them learn about them as a group, and as well as each student as a unique being. They bring different background to class. Know about their physical, cognitive and psychosocial development. You will come into contact with exceptional students needing special attention and approach in teaching.
• Learning process
This is specifically a significant component in the field of educational psychology. Knowing your students includes having knowledge on how they learn i.e. skills and strategies students use to get new knowledge. Understanding this component is an asset in designing your teaching strategies as they have to be compatible with learning processes of the respective students.
• Instructional strategies
Instructional strategies are more than just imparting knowledge to students on the false assumption that they are passive in the classroom. Most effective instructional strategies lead students to develop skills of being reflective, thinking critically and in exploring their environment. Instructional strategies, therefore, should make each student learn efficiently. You have to set appropriate goals for teaching your students and organize a plan for achieving them.
• Motivational skills.
Even with the best instructional strategies some of the times students will face obstacles in their learning processes. Learning is natural phenomenon but in school it can be discouraged or undermined by several elements (both within and/or external to the student). To be an effective teacher you must deploy conditions that will lead to students developing self motivation i.e. eager to learn and staying on the task for personal satisfaction rather than pleasing others.
• Classroom management skills
A classroom environment is composed of many individuals and factors that have a bearing on the teaching/learning process. One of the most important responsibilities of a teacher is to create and maintain an environment in the classroom that is conducive to learning i.e. keeping students engaged on the intended task. You will need to have strategies of organizing your students for effective learning and have in place a mechanism of preventing problems. Chaos or lack of organisation is detrimental to optimal learning.
• Assessment strategies
A teacher needs to know if his/her students are successful or not in their learning. This can be realized if the teacher is able to develop or obtain appropriate instruments, make accurate assessments and interpretations of the measurements. Assessment enables one to determine the performance and needs of the students leading to making correct decisions and actions that will improve the performance of each student.
• Technological skills
This is an era of information technology and for one to function effectively s/he needs to be competent in technological skills. These skills will assist you to access knowledge and integrate technology in your teaching strategies. Also you will be in a position to make students use technology in their learning.
HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
In the previous lecture we had a brief history of psychology. In this part we look specifically at the history of educational psychology. H. Ebbinghaus, a Germany, in 1885 was the first person to do a scientific study on memory which is related to learning process. However, educational psychology as an independent field started just before the beginning of 20th century in America. Here we are going to have an overview of the important actors in the development of the field since later on in the course we will discuss their approaches deeply.
William James (1842-1910) published a book and gave lectures on the application of psychology in educating children. For research, he emphasized the use of direct observation in the real classroom learning/teaching conditions rather than in laboratories.
John Dewey (1859-1952) was a major figure on practical application of psychology. He shaped the field of psychology by establishing the first educational psychology laboratory in USA. His major contribution was the view that a child is an active learner rather than the then held belief that children are passive learners. Also he emphasized that the role of the teacher should be to train students on how to think and adapt to the conditions outside the classroom. He was influential in making all children get competent education regardless of their gender, socio-economic background or ethnicity.
Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949) emphasized the use of scientific approach in educational psychology. He initiated the use of assessment and measurements in learning. B.F. Skinner built on the ideas of Thorndike. However, he insisted that the subject matter of psychology should not include mental processes but should only focus on the observable behaviours. This is termed as behavioral perspective. Skinner’s approach determined the best conditions for learning to take place. The teacher uses a rewarding system that improves student behavior or performance. He developed the concept of programmed learning in which a learner is reinforced in each step that leads to the intended goal.
Benjamin Bloom (1956) created the taxonomy of cognitive skills that indicated the goals of educators on learners. The cognitive skills he identified are and in the following order starting from the lowest level to the highest: remembering, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
In the 1980s the educational psychologists focused on the cognitive aspects of human learning advocated by Dewey and James but ignored by Skinner and fellow behaviorists. They researched on and applied the concepts of cognitive psychology including memory, thinking, reasoning and perception on the premise that they are significant on how information is received and processed.
Currently educational psychology includes out of school aspects that have influence on learners e.g. the role of culture in education. Also it is focusing on theories of self-regulating learning and metacognition i.e. cognition about cognition or knowing about knowing.
Contributions of other fields and theories
When discussing about general psychology we noted a number of contributions from other disciplines to the field. Likewise, developments in other branches of psychology have influence on Educational Psychology and vice versa. A good example is that developments in Educational Psychology are being used in the area of Special Education. Findings in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) are shedding knowledge on how human brains process information. Also advancements in ICT are being incorporated in conducting studies in Educational Psychology and as a tool in learning/teaching processes in our classrooms.
WHAT IS A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH?
Scientific research is based not on the phenomenon being investigated but by the way the investigation is carried out. Scientific approach is objective, systematic and verifiable. It is objective since it is based on the observable and/or on measurable aspects. Educational psychologists do not accept resolutions that might be biased, based on personal beliefs, opinions, speculation or experience alone. Verifiability is founded on the premise that someone else can crosscheck the findings by repeating the same research. Thus, scientific approach is based on empirical evidence.
Scientific approach is systematic since it has laid down procedures of carrying out an investigation. The main stages of conducting a research in Educational Psychology are:
Conceptualizing the problem
The first thing is to identify a problem that is researchable i.e. research problem. A problem is any issue that can be answered by doing a research. Some of the things we may like to study cannot be explained through scientific approach. Scientific methods cannot be applied in finding the existence of God, or God’s relationship with student’s academic performance. Research problem can be a result of personal experiences in one’s professional field (e.g. teaching/learning experiences in school settings) or developed from the findings of other researches (normally research findings raise new questions that need to be answered through scientific methods). A research problem may be finding why most students from area ‘A’ are dropping out of school and performance of most of those remaining in school is low. When formulating the research problem one has to draw from theories and other materials related to phenomenon under investigation. This knowledge gained shows what is going on the area of research and also is used to formulate the hypothesis. Hypothesis is a statement indicating the relationship of the variables of the research and indicating the expected results of the study. Hypothesis of the above research problem my be “Students of parents with secondary education in area “A” are more likely to complete schools than students whose parents have only primary school education”. Variables are the elements in the hypothesis. In the above hypothesis the variables are “parents with secondary education”, “parents with primary school education” and “completing school”. So, the main activity in this stage is to identify and clarify the research problem.
Data Collection
This stage involves determining instruments and mechanisms of obtain information needed in solving the research problem. In this step, information gathered is used to test the hypothesis. The hypothesis is not determined as correct or incorrect, but if it is rejected or accepted on the data obtained. There are several ways of collecting data that are to be discussed in the following section.
Conclusions
The raw data collected is processed through statistical procedures so that results can be analyzed and interpretations made. Statistical analysis determines if the results happened by chance or are the results of conditions created or that observed by the researcher. The results are used to make conclusions that indicate the application of findings in respective situations.
MAJOR RESEARCH METHODS
In this part we look at the major basic methods used to collect data. As mentioned above the information gained here is used to test the hypothesis. The method used in a study is determined by the nature of research i.e. the problem being investigated.
There are two major types of research methodology in Educational Psychology, namely quantitative methods and qualitative methods. In quantitative approaches measurements and test scores are used. Variables in the research are quantified and statistical methods are applied for the interpretation of the data.
In educational settings qualitative approaches are used to study theoretical variables that can only be inferred and are difficult to quantify. This method can be used to describe events, processes, motivation, attitudes and personal experiences. For example, a participant might be directed to narrate his feelings under specific conditions and then his/her explanation is recorded and analyzed.
Below is a description some of methods used to collect research data:
Descriptive Study
This type of qualitative study determines the current status of the behavior in the research problem. The main aim is to understand and describe the way things are. So, the researcher is collecting data to test hypothesis. Descriptive study is used to get the attitudes, opinions, and the occurrences of behaviour among students.
One mean of collecting data in descriptive study is through observation. Natural observation is systematic observation and recording data (thus scientific) in a natural setting while the researcher is detached from the activities of the group under study. This can either be observing students and teachers in the classroom, cafeteria or in the playing field. In Participant observation the researcher (Observer) is actively engaged in the activities of the group of the study. So the observer is both part of the group and is also involved in recording the data.
Another method in descriptive is Survey research, it involves selecting a number of people (sample) to collect data that represents the views, opinions, attitudes and/or beliefs of a population. Data can be collected by asking questions through questionnaires and/or conducting interviews. Due to technological advancements these instruments can be administered either by face-to-face or through e-mail and/or phones.
Single Case Study
This study is based on investigating one single individual or specific event. It used when an opportunity avails itself for a study that could not otherwise be done due to ethical or practical reasons. We cannot inject students with addictive drugs to study their levels of aggressions against others. However we can observe the levels of aggression of students who are discovered to be drug addicts. The findings of case study can help us to come up with some understanding of a phenomenon. However, since the results cannot be analyzed statistically, their interpretations cannot be generalized to other people.
Correlational study
This study determines the relationship between two or more variables that are associated. It indicates whether there is relationship or not. Statistical approach is used to determine the strength of the relationship and if it is either positive or negative. The score of relationship lies between the coefficient of -1 (negative) and +1 (positive). A score close to 0 means there is no relationship between the variables. There is no relationship between the height of student and his/her test score. A score close to -1 implies a negative relationship i.e. if one variable increases the other one decreases and vice versa. A good example is the relationship between test score and number of wrong answers. If the number of wrong answers increases the test score decrease, when the number of wrong answers decreases the test score increase. A score close to +1 means a positive relationship i.e. if one variable increases the other variable also increases. When the number of correct answers increase also the test score increases.
The strength of the relationship can be used to make predictions. However, finding that there is a relationship between the variables does not mean there is cause-effect relationship i.e. one cannot say either of the variables is the cause of the relationship. The number of correct or incorrect test answers is not the cause of academic performance of a student but rather due to other factors such as mental ability, study skills or level of difficulty of the test.
Experimental Research
Educational psychologists use experimental research to determine cause-effect relationship between variables i.e. to find out if a certain variable is the cause of behaviour or condition. Experimental research is conducted in a laboratory or controlled environment whereby conditions or factors thought to cause/influence the respective behaviour are carefully manipulated. The factor that is manipulated is called the independent variable while the behavior being observed or measured is called the dependent variable. So independent variable is the factor considered to be influential, cause or has effect on the dependent variable. If the dependent variable changes due to manipulation of the independent variable then we say there might be cause-effect relationship between the two variables i.e. independent variable has an influence on the dependent variable.
In many experimental researches two groups of individuals are used i.e. experimental group and control group. At the beginning of the research both groups are equal in all aspects. Random sampling is used to form these groups. This technique gives each individual of the study an equal chance to be selected in either group and eliminates the biases that the researcher may have. Experimental group is the one manipulated while the control group is treated the same way as the experimental group with the exception of the manipulated factor. The factor manipulated in the experimental group is the independent variable while the behavioural outcomes of the two groups are the dependent variable.
Cross-sectional Research and Longitudinal Research
These are studies that are time span researches i.e. research based on charges related to period of time. We might be interested to know the characteristics of students at different stages of development.
There are two main approaches used in time span researches. In cross-sectional research groups of children based on their age are selected and then the research focuses on the problem area of interest. The aim is to compare the characteristics of the respective age groups.
In longitudinal research the same group of individuals is investigated over a period of time that is normally over a year, some last many years e.g. from birth to death. One observes the changes that take place among the group members during the duration of the study.
Action Research
This is a research carried by a teacher or several teachers, rather than psychologist or research experts, with the aim of solving a specific problem in the classroom or school. The findings are used to remedy and improve teaching/learning processes.
In Action Research a teacher uses research procedures to gain skills that help them to deal with problems or situation that hinder effective learning in their classrooms. So, the teacher has to know how to formulate question that accurately reflects the problem/situation, to define the terms in the question, collect data and use analysis processes that yield findings that are valid and reliable. From the findings the teacher makes strategies for instructional improvement or for addressing the adverse situation. The implications are that as an effective teacher you are not only going to teach but also be a researcher in the classroom all the time. In action research you may follow the same procedures used in the other types of researches to avoid personal biases but have reliable results that lead to effective line of action.
As an example, a teacher may observe that a certain student in the class is always causing commotion and that s/he is supported by some other students despite being warned several times. Firstly, the teacher formulates a question “What makes Bahati to make commotion? The teacher needs to define commotion. Next, the teacher engages in data collection. The teacher records when and how many times s/he makes commotion and through interview deduce why s/he makes commotions. Also s/he may record when and how many times the other students support him/her. Then next follows the data analysis. The findings from the analysis may reveal that Bahati and his/her colleagues are not motivated learn the teacher’s subject. Based on the findings the teachers makes an action plan on how to make students motivated to learn his/her subject.
Ethics in Research
When conducting a research study (even action research) there are several ethical issues you have to bear in mind. If these are ignored the processes and the findings of the research might cause harm to participants; be rejected and/or legal actions taken against the researcher.
• The first precaution is to maintain the wellbeing of the participants. Make sure the research does not lead to harm of the participants physically, mentally or emotionally.
• Just gain consent from the participants and permission from responsible authorities before embarking on collecting data. If the participants are too young to make decision then you are required to seek consent from their parents or teachers.
• In case animals are used in the study make sure they are treated humanely.
Summary
In the first part we have defined psychology and identified the main objectives of studying psychology. We also looked briefly at the history of psychology by focusing on different perspective since psychology became an independent discipline in 1879 when scientific approach was used on try to understand a psychological issue. The last part was on some of branches in psychology related to the field of education.
Also we had a brief description of Educational Psychology and its history as an independent profession in the field of Psychology. Most importantly, the topic identified the list of the main concepts in Educational Psychology that you have to develop to become a competent teacher.
In this topic we described objectives of research in the field of educational psychology. Also we looked at the main components of a research and methods you used to collect data. You were required to identify strengths and limitations of each method of collecting data. Please do the activity as it may prove handy one day!
