Reflections on Educational Psychology in an Emerging Democracy
https://doi.org/10.17583/ijep.2015.1769
Keywords:
Downloads
Abstract
This paper reflects on the changes in Educational Psychology in South Africa in a ten year period (2005 - 2015) after the first democratic elections. It shows how Educational Psychology as a scientific discipline, and as a helping profession, has responded to the changing landscape and how the post-democracy years inspired a complete departure from previous practices. It also explores an expansion of its leitmotif from ‘helping’ to leading and facilitating processes of change and support. It shows how conceptual shifts from the individual level towards systemic interventions have impacted the nature of the support provided by educational psychologists and how the creation of virtuous cycles became central their work. The shifts from individual support to systemic support interventions have also contributed to blurring boundaries between professionals and stakeholders. The paper also argues that the strong experiential nature of studies in Educational Psychology has led to gaps in the empirical database in Educational Psychology - specifically in terms of the limited comparative studies that have been conducted. Such studies were mostly conducted within bounded systems. Furthermore, the paper argues that the role of educational psychologists has been marginalized in formal education support structures even as their role increased in importance in broader society.
Downloads
References
Badat, S. & Sayed, Y. (2014). Post-1994 South African education: The challenge of social justice. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 652(1), 127-148.
Google Scholar CrossrefBischof, D. & Alexander, D. (2008). Post-modern career assessment for traditionally disadvantaged South African learners: moving away from the ‘expert opinion’. Perspectives in Education, 26(3), 7-17.
Google Scholar CrossrefDaniels, D. (2006). Who will be the Shade of Our Tree When You Leave? Collaborating as Women to Advance Community Emancipation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37(3-4), 257-265.
Google Scholar CrossrefDavidoff, S. & Lazarus, S. (2004). The Learning School. Cape Town: Juta Academic.
Google Scholar CrossrefDepartment of Education. (1997). Quality education for all: report of the NCSNET & NCESS. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Google Scholar CrossrefDe Vos, P. (2002). Transformative Justice: Social and Economic Rights in South Africa's Constitution. In: Van der Auweraert, P., De Pelsmaker, T., Sarkin, J. & Van de Lanotte, J. (2002). Social, Economic and Cultural Rights: an appraisal of current European and International Developments. Belgium: Maku Publishers.
Google Scholar CrossrefDonald D., Lazarus S. & Lolwana P. (2002). Educational Psychology in Social Context. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar CrossrefDuncan, N., Van Niekerk, A. & Townsend, L. (2004). Following apartheid: Authorship trends in the South African Journal of Psychology after 1994. South African Journal of Psychology, 34(4), 553-575.
Google Scholar CrossrefEbersöhn, L. (2010). Resilience and career counselling: Describing the utility of quadrant mapping. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 20(3), 385-394.
Google Scholar CrossrefFike, L., Knoetze, J., Shuttleworth-Edwards, A. & Radloff, S. (2012). Normative indicators for Xhosa-speaking unskilled workers on the Wechsler Memory Scale Associate Learning and Visual Reproduction subtests. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 22(3), 323-332.
Google Scholar CrossrefFoxcroft, C.D. & Davies, C. (2008). Historical perspectives on psychometric testing in South Africa. In: Van Ommen, C. & Painter, D. (Eds.), (2008). Interiors: A History of Psychology in South Africa. Pretoria: University of South Africa Press.
Google Scholar CrossrefHealth Professions Act, 1974 (Act no. 56 of 1974). Regulations defining the scope of the profession of psychology. Government Notice, 2 September 2011, South Africa, no. 34581.
Google Scholar CrossrefHiggs, P. (1995). Metatheories in Philosophy of Education. Johannesburg: Heinemann.
Google Scholar CrossrefHuman-Vogel, S. (2006). Students’ mental models of positive mood and self-regulation in learning. South African Journal of Psychology, 36(3), 613-633.
Google Scholar CrossrefHume, D. (1951). Enquiry concerning human understanding. In: Yalden Thompson, D. C. Hume: Theory of knowledge. London: Nelson.
Google Scholar CrossrefMampane, R. & Bouwer, C. (2011). The influence of township schools on resilience of their learners. South African Journal of Education, 31(1), 114-126.
Google Scholar CrossrefMaree, J.G. (2012). Using ‘informal’ hypnotherapy in career counselling: Blending Savickas and Erickson to ‘free the angel’. Counseling: Giornale Italiano di Ricerca e Applicazioni, 5(2), 135-152.
Google Scholar CrossrefMaree, J.G. & Van der Westhuizen, C. (2011). Professional counselling in South Africa: A Landscape under construction. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89(1), 105-111.
Google Scholar CrossrefMasitsa, M.G. (2006). Student motivation: the study approaches of Grade 12 learners in township schools. South African Journal of Higher Education, 20(3), 486-500.
Google Scholar CrossrefMoletsane, M. & Eloff, I. (2006). The adjustment of Rorschach Comprehensive System procedures for South African learners. South African Journal of Psychology, 36(4), 880-992.
Google Scholar CrossrefOswald, M. (2014). Positioning the individual teacher in school-based learning for inclusion. Teaching and Teacher Education, 37, 1-10.
Google Scholar CrossrefRepublic of South Africa. (1996). Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Google Scholar CrossrefRichter, L. & Dawes, A. (2008). South African research on child development. In: Van Ommen, C. & Painter, D. (Eds.), (2008). Interiors: A History of Psychology in South Africa. Pretoria: University of South Africa Press.
Google Scholar CrossrefRuto-Korir, R. & Lubbe-De Beer, C. (2012). The potential for using visual elicitation in understanding preschool teachers’ beliefs of appropriate educational practices. South African Journal of Education, 32(4), 393-405.
Google Scholar CrossrefVan der Westhuizen, G. & Van der Merwe, M. (2010). Student-onderwysers se interpretasie en gebruik van leerteoriekonsepte: navorsings- en oorsigartikel. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 50(1), 87-103.
Google Scholar CrossrefVan Niekerk, P.A. (1986). Die Opvoedkundige Sielkundige. Stellenbosch: UUB.
Google Scholar CrossrefWood, L. & Webb, P. (2008). The perceptions and responses of South African school principals regarding HIV and AIDS in their schools. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 3(2), 143-149.
Google Scholar CrossrefDownloads
Published
Almetric
Dimensions
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All articles are published under Creative Commons copyright (CC BY). Authors hold the copyright and retain publishing rights without restrictions, but authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy articles as the original source is cited.