Psychology of Education



1.Behaviourism:

Learner is a passive organism who may be conditioned to learn new behaviours. Learning could be explained, therefore, by change in observable behaviour. An eminent few of the behaviourist E.L.Thorndike postulated the law of exercise and the law of effect.


Law of exercise: Repeating a conditioned response would strengthen the bond between stimulus and response. In other words, “practice makes perfect”.

Law of effect: Law of effect or the principle of reinforcement and punishment. According to this any behaviour followed by pleasure would strengthen the behaviour and any behaviour followed by pain would decrease the behaviour.



2.Gestalt Psychology:

Believes that the “whole” is greater than the sum of its parts. For example, in the human body, there are cells tissues, bones etc, yet the sum of its all, the human body is greater than the sum of its parts. This is because the parts are inter-related to each other.

Gestalt psychology demonstrated the significance of perception. It also showed that complex learning need not occur gradually through lengthy practice but may develop through insight.



3.Constructivism:

The learner actively constructs knowledge.  Various philosophers and psychologists propagated this. Some of them are :-



Jean Piaget: His basic concepts are ‘accommodation’ and ‘assimilation’. A learner developed new ‘scheme’ through accommodation. New experiences are assimilated into already existing schemes or they may be accommodated by creating new schemes.



Book: Science of Education and the Psychology of the Child. The Child and Reality: Problems of Genetic Psychology.



Both J. Piaget and J.S. Bruner believed that learning involves an active processing of information and that each individual activity organizes and constructs knowledge for themselves. Educational psychology believes that there are developmental stages for knowledge organization.



Book: The Relevance of Education, Towards a Theory of Instruction.



4.Idealism:

The mind is central in understanding the world. Thus the idealists emphasize the spiritual aspect to the natural or scientific facets of life. God is the source of all creation and knowledge, spirit and mind constitute reality. Values are absolute, eternal and unchanging. Man has a superior nature and it is expressed in the form of intellectual culture, morality and religion.



Associated thinkers – Froebel, Kant, Plato, Swami Dayanand, Vivekanand Aurovindo.



5.Naturalism:

Considers  nature as the whole of reality. Thus senses are the gateway of knowledge and nature is the source of all knowledge. Mind is subordinate to nature. The educative process must be pleasurable and be set in natural surrounding.



Associated thinkers: Tagore, Rousseau, Herbent Spencer



6.Pragmatism:

 Focuses on activity or doing. According to Pragmatists, there are no absolute values of life. Truth is created during the course of experience. Humans are active being and have the ability to solve their problems through logic of experiments and scientific methods.



Associated thinkers: C.S. Pierce, John Dewey.



7. Humanism:

It is a reasonable balance in life and regards humans as the centre and measure of all activities. Humanism believes in the interests and welfare of all human beings. Thus the life of the human being should be transformed so that the welfare of all should become the goal. The forms  of  learning is on self-actualization. It advocates so operation, mutual tolerance, and social understanding.

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