The Crisis of Educational Psychology: Its Challenge and Positioning

  • Yun Dai David
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  • State University of New York – Albany, New York 12222, USA

Online published: 2022-10-27

Abstract

Educational psychology as a branch of psychology has a history of more than one hundred years. However, it is still very young as an independent discipline. Internally, it lacks central concerns of its own, a coherent conceptual system, and a distinct methodology. Externally, it faces new challenges brought up by the increasing division of disciplines. In the context of the 21st century, it is increasingly difficult to view educational psychology as a sub-discipline of psychology and ignore its nature as “design science” and “human science”. Repositioning educational psychology entails distinguishing itself from other psychological sciences by establishing distinct central concerns, especially by re-examining its epistemology and methodology. The traditional logic of mechanical reductionism has to be replaced by an organismic logic of emergence that is based on the plasticity, openness, choice, and growth of human beings. At the same time, educational psychology has to draw inspiration from “design science” in its exploration of possibilities and optimality of learning and growth, while psychological and behavioral evidence provides the viability and constraints for such practices.

Cite this article

Yun Dai David . The Crisis of Educational Psychology: Its Challenge and Positioning[J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Educational Sciences), 2022 , 40(11) : 4 -24 . DOI: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2022.11.002

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