Education and Psychology
Psychology, as we know, is the science of behaviour. It is the science which gives us “better understanding and control of the behaviour the organism as a whole.” Education, in its simplest meaning, implied the modification of behaviour in order to modify behaviour; the educator must know how a certain child behaves in a certain situation and why he behaves as he does behave. It is in this sense that psychology and education are inter-related. What psychology studies are used by education for its purpose?
Pestalozzi gave the slogan ‘psychologize education’. By this he meant the practical application of psychology in the classroom. The modern aim of education is the harmonious, all round development of the child’s personality. It is possible only if the school and the teacher create such situations in which the personality of the child can be fully developed in psychologically free environment.
Today, education implies many more things than mere knowledge. It is not only the modification of the individual’s behaviour or the harmonious development of the personality of the child but is also a “phase of social process” which enables an individual to become an enlightened member of the society.
Modern concept of education is dynamic in its nature and aims at modifying human behaviour in terms of changing goals and objectives. Psychology provides the basis for good education. It provides data to the educator and he can use these data for behaviour modification. Thus, psychology and education are interwoven and the result is Educational Psychology.
