A TEACHER WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY CANNOT SUCCEED
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A TEACHER WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY CANNOT SUCCEEDA TEACHER WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY CANNOT SUCCEED |
It
is obvious that “a teacher without the knowledge of child psychology cannot
succeed” because education and psychology are interdependent. One psychologist
said that I did not understand how a teacher could teach without the knowledge
of education Psychology. Psychology had changed the spirit of education and it
gives new meaning to learning in classroom. Psychology also changed the old
concept of education where only upper class had the ability and right to learn.
Psychology
gives education the theory of individual differences that every child has
different mental ability and learns with different pace. Today in modern era,
education psychology is the foundation of education. Psychology effect
education in every field of teaching learning process. For years, teacher
educators have written about the purposes, aims, and goals of educational
psychology and have stressed the relevance of the field for the practice of
teaching and learning (Alexander 2004; Berliner 1993; Brophy 1974; Woolfolk Hoy
2000).
However,
as Sternberg (1996) noted, educational psychologists seem to be having more and
more trouble explaining to educators what they do and why educators should
care. In this special issue, authors explore the relevance of educational
psychology in teacher education programs, noting how educational psychology
contributes to the preparation of teachers. It is very essential for a teacher
to teach his students according to their mental abilities. Educational
psychology helps the teacher in doing so. It enables the teacher to teach where
and how? The way in which teachers are educated and supported to meet the
challenges of the 21st century has become a contended issue. In raising alarm,
criticizing the status quo, and making recommendations, various study groups
and blue ribbon panels have focused on economic issues, equity and excellence,
the need for more rigorous subject matter preparation, and on the restructuring
of incentives and the career ladder for teachers.
A TEACHER WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF EDUCATION PSYCHOLOGY
CANNOT SUCCEED
The
importance of child psychology to a teacher has the following points:
·
The
knowledge of child Psychology helps teacher to know how learning takes place.
·
It
enables a teacher to understand how learning process should be initiated, how
to motivate, how to memorize or learn.
·
It
helps teachers to guide the students in right direction in order to canalized
student’s abilities in right direction.
·
It
informs a teacher, about the nature of the learners and his potentialities.
·
It
helps a teacher to develop a student personality because the whole educational
process is for student’s personality development.
·
It
helps a teacher to adjust his methodologies of learning to the nature / demand
of the learner.
·
It
enables a teacher to know the problems of individual differences and treat
every student on his / her merit.
·
It
helps a teacher on how to solve the learning problems of a student.
·
It
helps a teacher on how to evaluate students whether the purpose of teaching
& learning has been achieved.
Therefore, from the foregoing, the
contribution of educational psychology to the theory and practice of education
is rich and varied. The knowledge of educational psychology is important as it
provides teachers with some basic skills and guidelines to solve the problems
of teaching- learning process. The knowledge of Educational Psychology has a
great relevance for the teacher because it helps the teacher to realize his objective
of effective teaching and educating the pupils properly. There are three focal
points of education. These are: the learner, the learning process and the
learning situation (Woolfolk, Hughes & Walkup, 2008). The learner or the
child is the first concern of the teacher. In order to know the child, the
teacher must understand the psychology of the child’s growth and development,
including his environment and if possible, his heredity. Again, the learner and
the learning process are inter-related.
Child Psychology tells how the
learning process goes on, hence, the utility of the knowledge of Educational
Psychology for a teacher. There is the learning situation which the teacher
must take into consideration. This includes the school, the class-room environment,
the objectives to be achieved, and parental expectations and so on. These focal
points of education demand that the knowledge of Educational Psychology is
essential for a teacher (Woolfolk, Winne, & Perry, 2006).
The
child has got natural urges instincts, potentialities and propensities. These
innate qualities are the “Prime movers” of his behaviour. The teacher who knows
psychology can make his teaching very sucessful while keeping in view innate
nature of the child.
A TEACHER WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY CANNOT SUCCEED
A teacher is like a
philosopher who guides his student. He is responsible to be aware about the
growth and development of the students. It is educational psychology which
enables the teacher to use various techniques.
To sum it all, it
can be concluded that the overall educational psychology help teachers to plan,
organize and evaluate teaching and learning activities in schools.
References
Alexander,
P. A. (2004). In the year 2020: Envisioning the possibilities for educational
psychology. Educational Psychology 39
(3): 149-56.
Berliner,
D. C. 1993. The 100-year journey of educational psychology: From interest, to
disdain, to respect for practice. In
Exploring applied psychology: Origins and critical analysis, ed. T. K.
Pagan and G. R. VandenBos, 39-78. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
Brophy, J. E. 1974. Some good five-cent
cigars. Educational Psychologist 11:46-51.
Sternberg,
R. 1996. Educational psychology has fallen, but it can get up. Educational Psychology Review 8:175-85.
Woolfolk Hoy, A. 2000. Educational psychology
in teacher education. Educational
Psychologist 35:257-70.
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