The psychology of education: achievements and challenges

Abstract

Psychology has been closely involved with educational research, policy and practice since its emergence as a scientific discipline in the late 19th century but it has occupied a less certain place in recent years. This paper describes aspects of the organisational framework of psychology as a discipline and draws upon Research Assessment Exercise data to gain a picture of the research capacity of the psychology of education. The division of research in universities between psychology departments and education departments is identified and its relevance to the ‘demographic crisis’ in educational research considered. Three areas of recent applications of cognitive psychology are reviewed and promising intervention studies are outlined. The implications of demographic trends in educational research together with indications of the limited capacity of the psychology of education pose threats to the potential to develop original education‐based psychological research and to overcome limitations of much existing research.