Educational psychology or school psychology is the psychological science studying how children and adults learn, the effectiveness of various educational strategies and tactics, and how schools function as organizations. While the titles are often used interchangedly, educational psychologists typically conduct research in education, while school psychologists serve as practitioners in schools or school-related settings. School psychologists work together with teachers and parents, to enhance children's learning and development, especially in cases of behavioural and learning difficulties . School psychologists focus on the needs of children in school as well as other areas of children's lives that interact with their school experiences. While educational and school psyschology deal with all types of learners, some school psychologists focus on assisting children with learning disabilities, such as ADHD, emotion or mood disorders, and many others.

Educational psychologists use Learning Theories as guides to help them effectively study how people learn. Over the years there have been many commonly accepted learning theories. These include:

• Cognitivism
• Constructivism
• Social Cognitivism
• Motivational Theories
• Development Theories
• Behaviorism

Major theorists of educational psychology:

• Albert Bandura 1925
• Jerome Bruner 1915
• Abraham Maslow 1908-1970
• Jean Piaget 1896-1980
• Carl Rogers 1902-1987
• Burrhus Frederic Skinner 1904-1990
• Lev Semenovich Vygotsky 1896-1934

A person is generally considered an Educational Psychologist if they have completed a degree in psychology or instructional psychology . Psychologists that work in a k-12 school setting are usually trained at either the masters or doctoral (PhD or EdD) level. In addition to conducting assessments, school psychologists provide services such as academic and behavioral intervention, counseling, teacher consultation, and crisis intervention.

School psychology is closely allied to developmental psychology.

See also

• Important publications in educational psychology

[school-based interventions]

• WikEd is a MediaWiki operated by the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign