Elements of Educational Psychology (Иностранный язык в профессиональной сфере — психология). Учебное пособие

Summary

1.Psychology has been understood at different times as the study of behavior. The meaning of the word “psyche”, a constituent part of the word “psychology”, has undergone successive modifications. From soul to mind, then from mind to consciousness and from consciousness to behavior, so it is also psychology.

2.Thus, psychology helps understand the behavior of people around us, find out how and why they behave differently; what forces have worked to make them so different from us, helps study human nature and the manifold ways in which it expresses itself in the life of different individuals.

3.Psychology has been defined in many different ways. It has been called the science of mental life, the science of mental processes, activities or functions, the study of behavior in its mental and bodily aspects, a systematic inquiry into man’s relations with his environment. In short, there are as many definitions of psychology as there are textbooks and a beginner is often confused as to the nature and scope of this science. Nevertheless, in spite of these differences psychologists agree that the chief purpose of the study of psychology is to know more about human nature and human activity.

4.In the narrow sense, education is confined to the classroom teaching and learning, in the broader sense it is a long process during the lifetime.

5.The scope of psychology is very vast, which can be enumerated

as —

(a) Human growth and development;

(b) Learning;

(c) Methods of teaching;

(d) Discipline;

(e) Mental health and defense mechanism;

(f) Individual difference;

(g)Aims and objectives of education;

(h) Curriculum construction;

(i) Measurement of the learning outcome;

(j) Group dynamics;

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(k)Aids;

(l)Guidance;

(m)Motivation;

(n)Personality;

(o)Intelligence, etc.

6.The basic aim of educational psychology is to care, cure and caution of the professional teacher about the inevitable problems of the group in the educational setting. Educational psychology is having the following aims and the objectives:

• to act as a sharp sword in the hands of the teacher to fight the classroom battle successfully;

• to specify the aims and the objectives of education in behavioral terms;

• to arrest the talents and expertise of the individual pupils for suitable rear of nurture;

• to act as a physicand psychotherapist for possible ailments in both at school and at home;

• to serve as a consultative entity for the various managerial, administrativeaswellasevolutionaryactivitiesonthepartoftheteacher, administrator or guardians.

7.Educational psychology is having its own limitations too. It cannot guarantee hundred per cent result. The teacher, investigator or the guardians cannot rely upon it for all round developments because of a number of other factors, which are operative on this individual.

8.However, the prime concern of educational psychology is to act as a watch-dog for the three prominent concerns of education — the teacher, the teaching and the learning processes.

Study questions and tasks

1.Give a definition of psychology and explain your definition.

2.Psychology is defined as a science of behavior. What do you understand by the terms “science” and “behavior”?

3.How has psychology been given the status of an exact science? What was the role of the experimental method in it? Expose the drawbacks of the experimental method.

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4.What are the schools of psychology? Discuss the prominent schools of psychological thought.

5.What is the method of study? Highlight the various effective methods for carrying out psychological studies.

6.What are the methods of psychology?

7.Give a detailed sketch of the relationship between education and psychology.

8.Educational psychology is a sharp sword in the hands of the teacher to fight the classroom battle. Justify the statement.

9.What do you mean by educational psychology? Discuss the etymological meaning and its nature. What does it depend on?

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Chapter 2

Human Growth, Development

and Mental Health Defence Mechanism

A teacher, having an aim of creating good personalities, needs to be acquainted with the very process of growth and aging. The knowledge of pupils’ interests, attitude and aptitude at different age levels is a long way in guiding the selection of materials, methods and motivation for suitable educational setting. So, it is desirable to possess a thorough knowledge about growth and development and the demands of the different stages.

The Differentiation of Growth and Development

Although we use the terms “growth” and “development” synonymously, they differ from each other technically. We can have a line of differentiation between the two.

Growth refers to an increase in size of the body, height, weight, etc. Growth is affected by food and nourishment.The rate of growth at the earlier stages — infancy, childhood is very high and rapid.

Development: It is a relatively wider concept and includes many other aspects like promotion in understanding, appreciation, interests, intelligence, personality, aptitude etc. Development is affected by education. The rate of development is relatively higher and rapid at the later stages — adolescence and adulthood.

Basically the entire human life is classified into four major stages namely — infancy (birth to 2 yrs.), childhood (2 yrs. to 12 yrs.), adolescence (12 yrs. to 20 yrs.) and adulthood (20 yrs. onwards).

During infancy there is an abrupt growth and increase of the body. Emotions are not discrete and differentiated at this stage. Love and fear are the two emotions that are exhibited by the infant at different situations.

At childhood there is a rapid physical growth. There is also a remarkabledevelopmentoftheintellectatthisstage,whichisobserved by the capability to remember letters, symbols, names, and places formu-

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late short stories. The process of socialization is also accelerated at this period. The child takes interest in group activities, controls his behavior in accordance with certain interrelationships and tries to accept social norms, rules and regulations.

At childhood emotions are well differentiated and displayed in appropriate situations. Love, anger, fear, hatred, curiosity, jealousy, affection etc. are the most important among others. The child retains a conscience, which enables him to choose between the right and the wrong.

From all the angles of considerations, adolescence is the most important and significant time in the life period of the individual. The individual assumes a special position in the society at this stage. Adolescence is called the teen-period taking into account the age range from thirteen to nineteen. Emotionally the adolescent is very much sharp and susceptible. All his activities are initiated and energized by emotions. The emotional world of this age can be affected by such academic factors as unsuitable curriculum, insecure environment, over expectations etc. Some social factors like odd social practice, squeezed leadership, high social expectations and personal factors like diseases and ailments, physical handicaps, adjustment problems with others. Some constructive emotions like love, affection, curiosity etc. drive the individual to the position side and destructive emotions like fear, anger, hatred, jealousy etc. — to the negative side.

Thus, the period of adolescence is battled by some problems and needs of physical, sexual, safety and security origin, adventurous and community adjustment problems, problems of being critical of the socialvalues,financialandoccupationalproblems.Theeducationalprovisions should be suitably accorded for managing and controlling the individuals passing through adolescence.The teacher should be very sensitive and susceptible to the problems of adolescents. He should handle them in the air of cooperation, cooperation, democracy and altruism.

The Meaning of Mental Health

Human health can be bifurcated into two parts: the physical health and the mental health. The physical health as we realize it, is the state of bodily well being, free from defects and deficiencies. It means that

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the physical health refers to a sound and well-coordinated state of the body capable of responding to the usual commands of the immediate environment. It is the normal functioning of the mind, free from disturbances and disorders. In the words of J.A. Hadfield, “In general terms we may say that mental health is the full, harmonious functioning of the whole personality”. Hadfield has also suggested the three basic ingredients of mental health as:

•full expression;

•harmonization;

•the direction to a common end of our native and acquired potentialities.

So, it is very clear that mental health is affected when the adjustment to the immediate environment fails. Mental maladjustment problems lead to mental disorders and mental ill health. Thus, mental health refers to a well-balanced mental state basing upon full expression, harmonization and direction to a common end.

Frustrations are caused when the individual fails to solve the sa-

luted problems due to environmental as well as personal limitations. Frustrationsleadtoconflictsthatareentailedbyrigorousclashesamong motives of strong loyalities. When two equally attractive things come in the way, the individual senses an approach-approach conflict re- gardingthepreferenceoftakingup.Approach-avoidanceconflictsput the individual under tremendous pressure, as despite his abhorrence to a particular thing he cannot do without it. In the approach-avoidance conflicting situations both the original as well as the alternative items are not favored, eventually leading to upset states.Among the personal factors responsible for ill mental health are: suppression of desires, physical deformities, perennial health hazards etc.

For perpetuating a sound mental health in the pupils, the teacher should be vigilant to the facts that he is not a source of terror or horror. He should attend to the personal dispositions of the taughts, he should be careful for the physical and mental disorders of the pupils. He should open avenues through which the pupils can channelize their pent up emotions.Apart from that, varied experiences should be given to the pupils with proper follow-up services.

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The teacher’s mental health is equally important as the pupils’. The factors affecting the teacher’s mental health are: heavy work load, large class-rooms, extra burdens, monotonous assignments, insufficient materials, job insecurity, frequent transfer, low salary, law social status, calculative life and certain personal as well as professional aberrations.

In general, the characteristics like nervous disorders, habit disorders, behavior disorders, organic disorders, educational and vocational disharmonies etc. indicate the mental ill health of the individuals.

Mental Development and the Defence Mechanism

Each child is constantly changing, growing and developing.While thefactofphysicalgrowthiscommonlyandreadilyrecognized,thatof mental growth is not so clearly understood. Many parents and teachers treat the child as if he were a miniature adult. They interpret a child’s behavior in terms of adult motives.

The defence mechanism is the art of defending the physiological selffromfrustratingsituations.Itisalsocalledanadjustment orescape mechanism. By adopting certain artificial means the organism tries to realize the substantially impossible issues, events, targets or goals safeguardingthephysiologicalbreakdown.Theconceptofdefencemechanism is universal, being warranted for the individual’s fear of his own motives. While adopting defence mechanism the individual always views a distorted picture of the reality and never deceives himself.

Daydreamingisasensationandrealizationofsatisfactionthrough contemplation and starving at the successful individuals. But fantasy is far away from reality where the being sketches his own pattern of behavior necessarily leading to success and satisfaction. Fantasy is always beyond reality irrespective of the time, space and individuals whereasdaydreamingbearssomerealitiesalthoughnotforthe dreamer but for some one else.

The Role of the Teacher in Dealing withAdolescent Problems

Basically the teacher should retain to the following things:

1. The teacher should retain a sympathetic and democratic attitude.

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2.The teacher should not have over expectations from his pupils of which they are incapable.

3.The teacher should estimate the caliber and capabilities of the adolescents objectively and assign educational tasks to them accordingly.

4.The teacher should allow freedom to the adolescents without interfering into the local and personal issues.

5.The teacher should establish friendly relations with the adolescents keeping trust and confidence in them.

6.At every moment different types of guidance services should be provided to disseminate a sense of safety and security among the adolescents.

Summary

1.Growth is generally understood as the increase in size of the physical body, height, weight, etc.

2.Development,ontheotherhand,isamuchbroaderconceptthan growth, the concept that involves all extensions and promotions in different aspects of life like social, psychological, spiritual, aesthetic, etc.

3.Both growth and development affect the process of education. The teacher or the educator should gain thorough knowledge about the process of growth and development. This knowledge will enable him to uncover, understand and utilize the various assets and limitations relevant at different stages of development and education well being. Не can effectively handle the pupils and achieve the educational objectives.

Study questions and tasks

1.What is meant by growth and development? Sketch the line of differences that exists between the two.

2.State the characteristic features of development. Speak of the various inherent principles of the process of development.

3.What are the different stages of development? Briefly discuss

them.

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4.What is mental health and what is its necessity in education?

5.Why should the teacher sustain a sound mental health?

6.Focus on different factors that directly or indirectly affect the mental health of the teacher.

7.How can a sound mental health be ensured for the teacher?

8.What is meant by a defence mechanism? In what context are they used and why?

9.What is day dreaming? How does it help restore a balanced personality, when the same is at stake?

10.What difference exists between day dreaming and fantasy?

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Chapter 3

Personality

The Concept of Personality

Theterm“personality”isaverymagnificentandinclusiveconcept in the study of psychology. It is widely and freely used in almost all the spheres of human activities, emphasizing different attributes and affinities,whichcanincludephysique,psyche,mannerism,intellectual abilities, moralities etc.While dealing with various aspects of the situations of our life, especially in the connection with teaching and learning, it is obvious to mark the peculiar style of each teacher’s teaching and each learner’s way of learning. Every teacher has a unique way of impressing others. This uniqueness of influencing the adjacent beings i.e. the total “stimulus value” that one gathers in the social milieu is generally called personality.

The Meaning and Definitions of Personality

Personality is not easy to define. In popular usage, personality is understood to mean that in which one person differs from another.

The term “personality” has been inherited from the Greek theatre, theoriginalwordbeing“persona”.“Persona”means“tosound through and express oneself in a certain fashion.”

Warren’s dictionarydefines personality as “the integrative organizationofallthecognitive,affective,conativeandphysicalcharacteristics of an individual as it manifests itself in focal distinction from others”.

Here are some other definitions given by different psychologists and faculty workers.

According to K. Fredenburhg, “Personality is a stable system of complex characteristics by which the life pattern of the individual may be identified”.

G.W.Allport says, “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment”.

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