Friday, February 22, 2013

Could this be the end of A-level psychology?

with a level of reform on the cards and psychology are still struggling to be recognized as a "good" science in some circles, the subject is under threat, writes

Marc Smith

return at the end of 1960 a scholar named John Radford concocted a plan to fulfill the Psychology of the University and in the classroom. The result of their efforts was the creation of a level of psychology. Although only a handful of candidates who began their studies in 1970, today more than 50,000 people have registered for the exam each year, making it the fourth most popular A-level.

Radford, now a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of East London, says that one of the factors that motivated their efforts was to bring more women into science. It was undoubtedly successful in about 70% of all A level candidates are female psychology. Girls also outperform their male psychology classmates considerable margin a year after year.

Despite his success at A, there is a reluctance to see psychology seriously - at least in schools. Despite its designation as a science, psychology is generally related to humanities and social sciences and psychology GCSE has never really taken off in the same way that the level (only a small number of schools offering). This suggests that schools tend to take psychology because it is popular, not because it is useful.

More recently, psychology schools took a bit of violence by the government with the massive reduction in funding for the training of teachers of psychology (while other sciences such as biology, physics and chemistry were viewed more favorably). Nor psychology has been included as one of the scientific topics of the EBC (French Baccalaureate), despite some topics that are taught psychology in the GCSE biology. The decoupling of AS and A-level may also have a significant negative impact on the study of psychology in the schools.

certainly not that the government does not respect the psychology is often just prefer to call it something else. Take, for example, "cognitive science" new favorite guru Michael Gove Daniel Willingham education - cognitive sciences psychologist This is for you and me personal Tome Government Insights behavior (or "nudge" unit), populated by "the. behavioral economists "- yes, they are more or less the psychologists too


Maybe if we promoted psychology as "cognitive science" or "cognitive neuropsychology" or even "neuroscience" would look more favorable. It could also help balance the gender imbalance is at a level of psychology. It would also follow in the footsteps of some schools that have changed the name of religious studies in philosophy and ethics "(or similar such designation), with a big noticeable change in the attitude of students (regardless of the content stay longer or less the same).


The fact that some schools have taken GCSE psychology makes any possibility of having to be included in any future probable. However, it may be time to begin to identify why psychology is often considered unfavorable and treated so unfairly compared to other sciences. What should be discussed is how the inclusion of psychology in the school curriculum (at all levels) can help promote science in general, which leads to a possible change in the attitude of young people who may be in danger of rejecting the science altogether - particularly girls and students who feel excluded from traditional scientific disciplines.

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