ФАКУЛЬТЕТ ПЕДАГОГИКИ И ПСИХОЛОГИИ ДЕТСТВА

THE APPLICATION OF PSYCHOLOGY TO EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

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Generally speaking, psychology is the study of the mind and how it works. The main issues studied by psychologists include learning, cognition, intelligence, motivation, emotion, personality, and the extent to which individual differences are shaped by genetics or environment. The methods used in psychological research include observation, interviews, psychological testing, laboratory experimentation, and statistical analysis. The fields of psychology, which are closely connected with education, include child psychology, educational psychology, and school psychology.

Child psychology is the study of the psychological processes of children, specifically, how these processes differ from those of adults, how they develop from birth to the end of adolescence, and how and why they differ from one child to the next. The data of child psychology are gathered from a variety of sources. Observations by relatives, teachers, and other adults, as well as the psychologist’s direct observation of and interviews with a child, provide a significant amount of material. In some cases a one-way window or mirror is used so that children are free to interact with their environment or others without awareness that they are being watched. Personality tests and intelligence tests have also proved useful in understanding child development. The principal topics of child psychology include language acquisition and development, personality development, and social, emotional, and intellectual growth.

Educational psychology is a branch of psychology concerned with the psychological problems associated with teaching and learning. Teaching is a process of helping a person or group of people to learn something. Learning is a process of gaining and assimilating knowledge, skills, and habits through individual experience and study. The optimization of teaching and learning is the main purpose of educational psychology. The educational psychologist studies the cognitive development of students as it affects learning and behaviour, their ability to take part in the creative process, the way in which students and teachers behave towards each other and affect each other, and the application of psychology to the art of teaching. Educational psychology provides teachers with methods to measure and test student’s intelligence and their ability to learn.

THE EDUCATION OF GIFTED OR MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN

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For the gifted and the mentally retarded, the primary criterion of identification is n intelligence test. If the child is high (for the gifted, above 125 IQ) or low (for the mentally retarded, below 75), he is considered for the special program. The determination is made by psychologists who in most cases must certify the child for eligibility for special programs.

In theory there are two ways of educating children who are intellectually more advanced than their peers: (1) acceleration, whereby the gifted child is promoted more rapidly through the ordinary classes; (2) enrichment, whereby he works through the usual classes at the usual pace but the curriculum is supplemented by a variety of cultural activities. Special schools or classes enable the gifted child to develop at his own accelerated pace. The instruction, methods, and materials must be adapted to the needs of each individual, and, working with others who are quick and bright, each child is encouraged to put forth his best effort. Special schooling has also provoked a number of criticisms. The segregation of children in special schools tends to create an intellectual aristocracy that is quite objectionable as an aristocracy based on birth, wealth, or political power. Existing methods of selection are imperfect, and since the majority of the gifted are discovered in the higher economic classes, this segregation also exaggerates class distinctions.

Mental retardation is characterized by subnormal intellectual functioning and impaired adaptive behaviour. Care and treatment of the retarded in the past was mainly custodial. Nowadays psychologists pay much attention to parent education, special schooling, vocational training, and sheltered workshops. Many retarded persons have proved capable of becoming nearly independent and productive members of society, although in most cases specialized training and continuing guidance services are necessary to aid adjustment. Residential care is often a necessity for those retarded children who need constant attention. Psychologists believe the best kind of residential care is that most closely resembling family life. For many school-agers, special education is one of the most important means to self-sufficiency. Psychologists believe the best treatment for subnormal intellectual functioning and impaired adaptive behaviour is the integration of children from the special-education classes with those in the normal-education classes.