Theory and Practice of Education and Psychology

Theory and Practice of Education and Psychology

It is customary to distinguish between the art, science and philosophy of education and though this distinction is not absolute it will help in understanding the role of psychology in education in greater detail and with greater' clearness. s Education as an art means those practices and practical skills which help to make teaching and organization of learning experiences more effective. 

As a result of Tong experience of education and teaching, several teachers acquire a knack of doing their work effectively with very satisfying results. Particularly in communicating knowledge and information to the young, and in managing young people in and outside the classioom, they are very successful. 

They may not be able to explain their success but they are masters of performance in their field. Many teachers take to the study of psychology in the hope of learning simple, definite, scientifically-proven remedies for difficulties they meet in the course of their work. But they are soon disillusioned for a study of the science of psychology has no such outcome. 

As William James emphatically points out:

You make a great, a very great mistake, if you think that psychology, being the science of the mind’s laws, is something from which you can deduce definite programmes and schemes and methods of instruction for immediate classroom use. Psychology is a science and teaching is an art; and sciences never generate arts directly out of themselves. An intermediary inventive mind must make the application, by using its originality.

which are known as trial-and-error or hit-and-miss methods. The science of education means an organized body of facts and principles which underlie teaching and learning processes. 

The programmes, methods and procedures of education are no longer determined by trial and error but are the results of careful and systematic investigations and based on the experience of a large number of teachers. 

The facts and principles of education and teaching are being constantly revised and improved, and new concepts and theories are being developed. Any one who visits a modern school is aware of many changes from the old practices of grind, drill and recitation. The decline of these methods has been mostly due to the systematic studies made about the value of activity programmes. 

The activity method makes young people work on projects which make sense to them, suit their varied interests and abilities and provide opportunities for group work Comparative studies of traditional methods of subject instruction, drill and recitation, and progressive activity methods involving projects, units of work and purposeful activities have revealed that pupils taught by the latter methods are consistently superior, besides other gains.

Such changes in educational methods have been largely dictated and suggested by psychological investigations. The contribution of psychology to the science and practice of education has been very significant. 

Psychology has always taken a great interest in the educational processes and programmes, and educational psychology is constantly taking over aspects of the educative process for detailed study, investigation and evaluation. 

For example, E. L. Thorndike’s view of learning as a set of stimulusresponse connections is an example of a psychological theory influencing piactices in schools. 

The psychology of learning, of personality and of intelligence, the study of individual differences, of interrelations between children and their environment and of aptitudes and specific abilities, and the psychological analysis of motivation, transfer of learning and patterns of development, have all shed much light on educational problems. 

Psychology is the science of behaviour changes and cannot help underlying education which seeks to direct such behaviour changes.

For some time past psychology and education have been working and growing hand in hand. 

Psychology has taken over numerous problems of education for detailed analysis and investigation, and even subsequent solution. What are the causes of deficiency in reading, what factors delimit efficient memorizing, what programmes and procedures suit feeble-minded children,, how class work can be motivated, should practice be spaced, does a bright child continue to be bright throughout, what home environments are injurious to the mental health of children, and the like are questions closely studied by psychology and the results of such studies influence educational practice and procedures. 

Again, psychological methods of investigation and research have entered into the field of education and the modern teacher is not only familiar with them but also utilizes them to inquire into the validity of his own procedures It is difficult to expect him to undertake any formal education/ al experiments or detailed investigations but if he is familiar with the techniques and principles of research he may deal with facts as they present themselves in the course of his work, and arrive at broad generalizations which may be tested by other teachers. It is difficult for a school to have a climate of research

but all progressive schools are constantly reviewing their procedures and programmes and testing outcomes.

The Philosophy of education means ideals and values which must inspire all educational effort and programmes, policies and procedures. They are drawn from our view of life in general, from our philosophy. 

Since education has been conceived as directed behaviour changes or designed growth, all those who are engaged in education must have a system of values which will guide the educative process. Our philosophy of education will deal with educational problems faced by society and the individual and will arise from our general philosophy of life. 

It must conceive the most desirable aims of education and wdth the aid of the science of education and psychology must indicate the best means by which those aims may be realized. [ Psychology, however, has brought in an element of determinism, which is fatal to idealism. 

When striving to bring about desirable changes in behaviour stress is laid on stimulus-response bonds; values and ideals are relegated to the backgrounds Ross, has pointedly remarked;

Educationists do as a rule recognise that there is a normative.

aspect of their study, and that they must go beyond psychology in their quest for aims and values in education. But writers on educational psychology are usually content to say this and to proceed with the psychological account of education, leaving the question of values to other people. 

The result is frequently unfortunate, for whatever the private philosophy of the writer may be, the reader is apt to get a distorted picture of the whole educational field. Because values, norms, and standards are relegated to the background, if not neglected altogether by educational psychology, the student, infected by the psychological virus of today, is apt to neglect them in his theory and practice. 

Moreover, the deterministic standpoint of psychology, if not corrected, leads to an attitude of determinism in education. The results of mental testing, for example, taken by themselves, lead the educator to the pessimistic conclusion that an individual’s achievement is strictly determined by his hereditary endowment; that it is nature, not nurture, that counts in the final result. 

Early formulations of the instinct doctrine in psychology .... have in many quarters had the effect of engendering a fatalistic attitude regarding man’s higher spiritual aspirations. It is only idealism that can supply an adequate corrective to such determinism.

But if psychology cannot supply ideals and values to education, it will help to bring down unbridled idealism in education to the earth countries with a rich cultural heritage like India education is weighed down by sky-high ideals and psychology will help to discriminate between impossible ideals and practicable objectives Too high ideals lead to cant and hypocrisy which is the bane of Indian education.

Psychology and the Teacher:

Modem education is described as child-centred. This paedocentric tendency calls for a detailed knowledge and understanding of children. They are dynamic organisms, changing and growing with each experience and activity toward maturity and stability, physical, social, emotional and intellectual. 

The patterns and principles of their many-sided growth and development, their individual differences in mental abilities and aptitudes, their emotional needs, their difficulties and disabilities, their need for guidance and the methods of testing and measuring their achievements are discussed and described in psychology, and this knowledge will be of great advantage to the teacher.

It will help him to plan and direct their growth and development better. 

In the selection and grading of instructional material, techniques and methods, he will be guided by the capacities and needs of his pupils. Maturation is a very significant factor in learning and at various levels of development children are capable of benefiting by practice in various functions. 

If children are called upon to perform tasks which are beyond their present level of maturation, they will experience frustration and discouragement. The concept of readiness in educational planning for both the group and the individual pupil is very important. 

When should simple fractions be taught? What works of literature are suitable for high-school students? When should the teaching of a classical language be started? The teacher must study and inquire about the readiness of each pupil. Every pupil has his own pattern of readiness, and the teacher must fit materials and methods to that pattern. 

From a study of psychology the teacher will know about the patterns and principles of growth and development, maturation and learning, and this knowledge and understanding will help to make his teaching and the pupils learning more effective. 

Psychology will help in selecting and organizing instructional material, in planning, directing and guiding learning and in evaluating achievement and learning.

Psychology pipvides knowledge only of the general nature of behaviour, how children in general behave, learn and develop, but the teacher will have to develop insight in applying that general knowledge in the understanding of individual children.

A knowledge of psychology will help the teacher to understand and appraise himself better and more correctly. He will understand his abilities and handicaps, his tensions and frustrations, his needs, goals and purposes, and with a realistic picture of himself he will make appropriate adjustments to his work and his pupils. 

Most often teachers are haunted by a vague sense of fear, fear of being unacceptable to parents, teachers, pupils and heads, of criticism and losing popularity, self-knowledge and self-understanding will inspire them only with self-confidence and courage to be what they are and to accept themselves for what they are. 

It will promote better mental health and greater happiness. Self-knowledge should give them an insight into their abilities, attitudes and interests, and their maladjustments and inhibitions, those qualities which are a serious handicap in their personality. 

Are they unduly sensitive to criticism, sarcastic and unfriendly in their relations with their pupils or less eager to make friends or co-operate with fellow teachers? A correct appraisal one self helps to brush off such sharp corners of personality}

In conclusion, it may be pointed out that this book dealing with the essentials of educational psychology will keep in view bow recent advances in educational theory can be applied to the practical problems and situations of the school.