This book examines the ways in which the theory and data of social psychology can be applied to teaching, learning, and other experiences in schools. Its focus ranges in level from the individual (e.g., student attitudes and attributions), to the teacher-student interaction, to the impact of society (e.g., racial and cultural influences on school performance). The editor and distinguished contributors have two major purposes. The first is to illustrate the scope and sophistication of the emerging field known as the social psychology of education. The second is to provide solid, informed suggestions to educators for the amelioration of current educational problems. To that end, each author explicitly discusses implications for educational practice.

"This book will provide an introduction to social justice from the perspective of the major topics that affect school psychology practice"--

For well over a century educational reformers have looked for a breakthrough in the sciences of psychology and pedagogy that would dramatically improve the effectiveness of schooling. This book shows why such an ambition is an illusion. Schools are institutions which attempt to balance the needs of a bureaucratic society that funds them with the personal goals, interests, hopes and ambitions of the students who enroll in them. Reform efforts attempt to realign that balance without any clear conception of how the two are related. This book offers a theoretical account of the relation between the minds of learners and the institutional structure of the school that would account both for the ways that schooling remakes minds and societies and why such institutions are resistant to change.

Offers a social psychological account of social life in three high schools, combining theoretical analysis with reflective methodology. The emphasis of the book is on how social relations have varying effects on the feeling of self in young people from different socioeconomic environments.

Use the neuroscience of emotional learning to transform your teaching. How can the latest breakthroughs in the neuroscience of emotional learning transform the classroom? How can teachers use the principles and practices of positive psychology to ensure optimal 21st-century learning experiences for all children? Patty O’Grady answers those questions. Positive Psychology in the Elementary School Classroom presents the basics of positive psychology to educators and provides interactive resources to enrich teachers’ proficiency when using positive psychology in the classroom. O’Grady underlines the importance of teaching the whole child: encouraging social awareness and positive relationships, fostering self-motivation, and emphasizing social and emotional learning. Through the use of positive psychology in the classroom, children can learn to be more emotionally aware of their own and others’ feelings, use their strengths to engage academically and socially, pursue meaningful lives, and accomplish their personal goals. The book begins with Martin Seligman’s positive psychology principles, and continues into an overview of affective learning, including its philosophical and psychological roots, from finding the “golden mean” of emotional regulation to finding a child’s potencies and “golden self.” O’Grady connects the core concepts of educational neuroscience to the principles of positive psychology, explaining how feelings permeate the brain, affecting children’s thoughts and actions; how insular neurons make us feel empathy and help us learn by observation; and how the frontal cortex is the hall monitor of the brain. The book is full of practical examples and interactive resources that invite every educator to create a positive psychology classroom, where children can flourish and reach their full potential.

Laura Smith argues that if there is any segment of society that should be concerned with the impact of classism and poverty, it is those within the “helping professions”—people who have built their careers around understanding and facilitating human emotional well-being. In this groundbreaking book, Smith charts the ebbs and flows of psychology’s consideration of poor clients, and then points to promising new approaches to serving poor communities that go beyond remediation, sympathy, and charity. Including the author’s own experiences as a psychologist in a poor community, this inspiring book: Shows practitioners and educators how to implement considerations of social class and poverty within mental health theory and practice.Addresses poverty from a true social class perspective, beginning with questions of power and oppression in health settings.Presents a view of poverty that emerges from the words of the poor through their participation in interviews and qualitative research.Offers a message of hope that poor clients and psychologists can reinvent their relationship through working together in ways that are liberating for all parties. Laura Smith is an assistant professor in the department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. “Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, [this]is an impassioned charge to mental health professionals to advocate in truly helpful ways for America’s poor and working-class citizens . . . beautifully written and structured in a way that provides solid information with digestible doses of in-your-face depictions of poverty . . . Smith’s appeal to the healing profession is a gift. She envisions a class-inclusive society that shares common resources, opportunities, institutions, and hope. Smith’s book is a beautiful, chilling treatise calling for social change, mapping the road that will ultimately lead to that change. . . . This inspired book . . . is not meant to be purchased, perused, and placed on a shelf. It is meant to be lived. Are you in?” —PsycCRITIQUES magazine “Smith does not invite you to examine the life of the poor; she forces you to do it. And after you do it, you cannot help but question your practice. Whether you are a psychologist, a social worker, a counselor, a nurse, a psychiatrist, a teacher, or a community organizer, you will gain insights about the lives of the people you work with.” —From the Foreword by Isaac Prilleltensky, Dean, School of Education, University of Miami, Florida “This groundbreaking book challenges practitioners and educators to rethink dominant understandings of social class and poverty, and it offers concrete strategies for addressing class-based inequities. Psychology, Poverty, and the End of Social Exclusion should be required reading for anyone interested in economic and social justice.” —Heather Bullock, University of California, Santa Cruz

Written in an accessible and engaging style, this second edition of The Psychology of Education addresses key concepts from psychology which relate to education. Throughout the text the author team emphasise an evidence-based approach, providing practical suggestions to improve learning outcomes, while fictional case studies are used in this new edition to provide students with a sense of what psychological issues can look like in the classroom. Activities around these case studies give students the chance to think about how to apply their theoretical knowledge to these real-world contexts. ‘Key implications’ are drawn out at appropriate points, and throughout the book students are provided with strategies for interrogating evidence. Key terms are glossed throughout the book and chapters are summarised and followed by suggestions for further reading. A chapter on Learning interactions and social worlds is new to this edition. The following chapters have all been extensively updated: Learning Assessment Individual differences and achievement Student engagement and motivation The educational context Society and culture Language Literacy Inclusive education and special educational needs Behaviour problems Dealing with behaviour problems. This book is essential reading for undergraduate students of Education Studies and Psychology as well as trainee teachers on BA, BEd and PGCE courses. It will also be of use to postgraduates training to be educational psychologists.

This text explores the scientific relationship between learning, instruction, and assessment with a concise and bold approach. This text explores the science of learning, including the essentials of evaluating instruction, the research findings regarding the science of learning, and the possible prescriptions of that research. Written for both preservice and inservice educators who wish to better understand how and why students learn.

Originally published in 1976, this introductory text for those intending to work with slow learners was concerned with the practical implications of recent British and North American research in the field of psychology and education at the time. Slow learners are young people who for a variety of reasons, continuously or for long periods, under-function in terms of intelligence, educational attainment and social skills. This book offers a clear analysis of the problems facing slow learners, their psychology and the types of education open to them. Dr Brown reassesses the needs of disabled children and adults in the context of their families, with the emphasis on the practical level of activity and training possible for them. The aim is the integration of the disabled person in society, and the belief is that services for the disabled should be integrated, with no professional person working on an isolated basis, but as part of a multidisciplinary professional team. Design for individuals entering the field of teaching, particularly those concerned with special education, training and rehabilitation programmes, the book should also be of value to social workers, psychologists and other professional people working in the field, as well as to parents of disabled children.