ATPS CPD event, 3rd October 2015, Perth
The future of psychology in
schools and colleges:
sticking our heads above the parapet –
can we learn from what we see?
Morag Williamson
m.williamson@napier.ac.uk
What can we learn from the
practices and experiences of others?
Which ‘others’..?
• other countries
• other levels of education
• other points in time (ie the past)
Iceland
......teacher autonomy....
.....free choice of content....
.....motivating.....
.....innovation.....
......reliability?
Russia
......in some areas, psychology is
taught to children from seven
years – ‘psychologisation of
curriculum’....
......it is also taught to parents of
babies & toddlers......
England & Wales
...in the past
Lost topics, sadly missed (by those
of us old enough to remember!)
eg:
......psychology of perception.....
....and social perception....
......comparative psychology.....
England & Wales currently:
level of demand at A-level
Maths & stats requirements for
the new Psychology A-levels
Scotland
...in the past
1999-2005 –
.....over-assessment....
.....predictable exam questions...
.....rote-learning.....
Seven domains:
•Scientific inquiry domain
•Biopsychology domain
•Development & Learning domain
•Sociocultural context domain
•Cognition domain
•Individual variations domain
•Applications of psychological science domain
UK university curriculum(1)
QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Psychology
degrees in UK universities -
Six core knowledge domains:
•Research methods
•Biological psychology
•Developmental psychology
•Social psychology
•Cognitive psychology
•Individual differences
UK university curriculum (2)
BPS GBC curriculum – requirement for
BPS accreditation of psychology degrees,
conferring Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership
Denmark
.....curriculum devised nationally in
partnership with the teachers’
association....
.....emphasis on interdisciplinarity.....
..... emphasis on relevance to ‘real-life’
topics affecting students’ lives: “we
should start with real-life issues”.....
Finland
One of the highest performing jurisdictions
(HPJs) in international education ratings
.....high-quality teacher education.....
.....highly-respected profession......
.....all 16-19 year-olds must study at least one
psychology unit - whatever their course:
“a basic knowledge of psychology should be the
norm for all school-leavers”