Educational Psychology – Theory, Research, and Teaching: A 25‐year retrospective

Abstract

This article presents a brief overview of developments in educational psychology over the last twenty‐five years. It firstly presents an historical context by reviewing four basic emphases in educational psychology; cognitive psychology, behavioural psychology, social cognitive theory and humanism. The article then reviews the growth in cognitive psychology research by briefly examining developments arising from Piagetian, Vygotskian and information processing theories. The article examines the development of constructivist approaches to learning and teaching, and the growth in cognitive theories of motivation. Cross‐cultural, methodological and other developments in educational psychology are also briefly examined. The article concludes with five paradoxes to stimulate the reader to consider some implications of this 25 year overview.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank sincerely Ray Debus, Martin Dowson, Herb Marsh, Andrew Martin, Mike Pressley, Phil Winne, and the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. They kept my historicity in order and my idiosyncrasies in check.