Educational Psychology BSc (Hons)

BSc Educational Psychology is a three year full-time programme giving students the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of psychology and apply this in an educational context. Students will acquire a sound knowledge base on which a deeper understanding of the philosophy, policy and practice of education is built. Students will study key theories and philosophical concepts concerning the nature of education, learning and thinking. There will be a consideration of education in the contexts of the social, cultural and political domains. Students will gain an understanding of how people learn best and develop throughout their lives and they will be able to articulate what makes for effective pedagogy. The programme will also enable students to examine the biological, cognitive, developmental, individual difference and social psychological principles underlying everyday experience. There will also be the opportunity to visit a range of different educational establishments to help them connect theories of education and psychology with practice. The students will have the opportunity to participate in a placement in the final year of their course. Ultimately all these experiences will help them to apply their knowledge of psychology to the educational landscape and equip them to work effectively with children and young adults. On successful completion of the three-year programme students will graduate with a BSc level degree and have acquired sound transferable knowledge and practical, analytical and technical skills that are highly marketable in a wide range of industries: e.g. education, mental health, human resources, market research, communications, government and social research. The programme offers the student opportunities to experience and engage in a number of learning approaches in order to develop their subject specific knowledge. A variety of teaching and learning methods, such as lectures, workshops, group discussion and interpretative work, tutorials, laboratory activity and library work will be used throughout the modules. Students will experience active teaching methods and modelled techniques so that they understand and recognise best educational practice. Overall, all modules will have a common theme: a student-centred approach. Students will engage in a variety of modes of assessment such as essays and literature reviews that will be crucial to developing critical thinking skills. Other modes of assessment will include examinations, laboratory reports, oral presentations that will demonstrate students’ engagement with the subject. The dissertation allows a range of intellectual and practical skills to be assessed. The majority of assessments have been designed to be flexible in scope to enable students to take responsibility for the exact nature of their own learning.