Some Questions in Educational Psychology

In my humble opinion, psychology was one of the most complex subjects I ever studied since I was in high school. It is really hard to come by the very meaning of psychology and its importance to our understanding of life. This can be understood in simply understanding what is going on in the mind of a person when education comes in to their lives. This is why the study of educational psychology is ever important in our understanding of what is the ideal and real mode of education for a child.

Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between other multi-disciplinary fields like history, sociology, anthropology, humanities etc. This poses a challenge not just for the psychologists but also by educators, like parents, teachers and people surround the child. Also, even a simple person can ask these crucial questions; is it nature or nurture that molds a child? Can cognitive development be accelerated? Should it be mono-lingual or bilingual education in the early years? Should boys and girls study together or separately? What are the advantages and disadvantages of ability grouping? And many more questions to follow.

Is it nature or nurture that molds a child? These camps of thought, in my opinion, are not in opposition with one another but co-existing and dependent from each other. Nature is very important in the child’s growth since a child learns a lot from his/her environment just like the vision of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. According to Rousseau, a child should grow within nature and learn to use the bounty of it as an educational tool. But is nature solely responsible for a growing child? Certainly not or else we will raise a feral child similar to that of the famed novel, Jungle Book. Nurture is very crucial since it is the parent’s responsibility to teach and nourish the child with the knowledge he/she will need in order to survive, think, and gain wisdom from the world around them. Without the balance of nature and nurture, a child will grow up inadequate and might not survive the world they’ll live in.

Can cognitive development be accelerated? Yes and no is my answer in this question. Yes it is because a child’s growth is depending on the genetics of his/her parents, intellectual quotient and, more recently, emotional quotient. We sometimes call these children as “gifted” because of their ability to do something ahead of their years. I remember a classmate of mine in college. She is Shaira Luna, a well-known gifted child. We all know her vast knowledge and expertise in the field of science and we all oohs and ahhs on her. But when I found out that she kept on shifting and shifting from once course to another, she told me that she didn’t live d life she had when she was growing up. The last thing I heard, she is now in College of St. Benilde taking up photography. This is far from the “Promil Kid” we know. This is why cognitive development should not be accelerated.

But at the same time, cognitive can be accelerated if the child is showing maturity at the early age. I know some cases where children mature as early as 5 years old and have a high IQ at the age of 12. We can accelerate their cognitive development by nurturing their capabilities at this stage in their life. But we should be reminded never to push hard on the child that he/she will be expected to be like an adult wherein they are still young. Child psychology, in my opinion, is one of the most complex branches of psychology and many studies are being conducted to gain insights on this field.

Should it be mono-lingual or bilingual education in the early years? This is contentious when it comes to national identity and nationalism. But for me, it should be bilingual in the sense that knowledge is not confined in one language or culture but many. Taking the case of Japan, almost all subjects are taught in Japanese, even science and technology. But the problem of Japan right now is that they are now having a hard time coping with the demand of globalization, which English is the medium of communication. This is why bilingual education is crucial in the early years so that when a child grows up, he/she will be knowledgeable not just with their native tongue but also another language.

But the question is; what about the issue of nationalism? It is true that nationalism calls for national identity but that doesn’t mean we should not include other ideas. A good example is our own country. With the bilingual education, we are not only adept to the Filipino language but also, albeit not that strong, English. We can see this with the influx of foreign students from Korea and Middle East since it cheaper to study English here. And foreigners won’t be having a hard time communicating with Filipinos since we learn to speak English at the early age.

Should boys and girls study together or separately? I am neutral with this issue since both can have advantages and disadvantages. I for one is a product of an exclusive school so one advantage is that the friendship and camaraderie is built up as early as the primary level. Even at my age of 24, I still have friends dating back from our preparatory levels. At the same time the disadvantage I see is that it can trigger homosexuality since the lack of exposure with the other sex. This is a common stereotype from people coming from an exclusive school as a “breeding ground” for gays and lesbians. But this is a case-to-case basis and not all people who came from exclusive schools don’t turn being gays or lesbians.

A non-exclusive too has its advantage similar to an exclusive school. In fact, it can break barriers of machismo and “Maria Clara” stereotypes, which can be prevalent from an exclusive school. I find a non-exclusive school more engaging and a good learning process as a child grows up and in fact, I see no disadvantage at all.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ability grouping? We cannot deny that every person has their own strengths and weaknesses. The advantage of ability grouping is harnessing and developing their potentials to the fullest. That is why schools have honor section for this example. They were taught more vigorously and more demanding subjects since they have potentials. But the disadvantage, and very negative, is that this can instill envy, self-doubt, self-pity and disunity in a classroom setting. I had that experience when I was in my grade school and high school days where the teachers favored more the honor section while “neglecting” the other classes. The honor class have the best teaches while the others have the not-so-good teachers that we end up learning nothing at all. Also, this grouping led to the mutual hate of the other sections to the honor section because of this so-called preferential treatment of the honor class.

But the negative view of ability grouping can be prevented if the child will be taught that they are grouped because of their strengths and should not expect special treatment but rather a more rigorous and demanding output expected from them. They should also be taught not to rest on their laurels but to prove others that what they are doing is no easy task but rather difficult.

To end my reflection, there are still questions I would like to answer. But as young as I am, I don’t have the necessary answers of the moment. The questions I tried to answer are just the tip of the iceberg of the many questions regarding education and psychology. And with more answers answered, more questions rises. But by trying to give my 2 cents on the questions, I hope that I can help contribute to our understanding of educational psychology.