PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION - 2027/8

Module Overview

This module is part of the Developmental Psychology stream of Level 6 Psychology optional modules and may not be running every year. In some years an alternative optional module within the Developmental Psychology stream may be offered instead.

This module considers the relationship between psychology and education and will give you a comprehensive understanding of how psychological theory and research intersects with education. We will consider how psychological theories and research can be applied to educational practice and issues in education including understanding the process of learning, differences between learners, special educational needs and educational policy. You will learn how to approach education from a scientific perspective and consider how personal experience informs your views.

This module builds on theories and research that you will have learnt about in your level 4 and 5 developmental, cognitive and social modules. The content will complement topics covered in other final year modules (e.g. PSY3103) and will develop your ability to apply psychology to an area of practice in a similar way to several other final year modules (e.g. PSY3127 and PSY3073). The summative assessments will enable you to further develop skills you have acquired during the course so far, such as conducting literature searches and reading articles, critical evaluation and writing for a lay audience which will be useful for your dissertation and the future.

Module provider

Psychology

Module Leader

GOOCH Debbie (Psychology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): 100

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Principles of education and views of learning


• Learning environments and classroom assessment


• Learner differences and learning needs


• Special educational needs in language and literacy


• Special educational needs in movement and coordination


• Special educational needs in numeracy


• Social Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) in schools


• Challenging behaviour and intellectual disability


• Inclusion: Theory, Policy & Practice

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to enable students to develop and demonstrate their understanding of how psychological approaches and methods can be applied to educational practice in the context of special educational needs (LO1). The coursework will required students to critically appraise and synthesize research (LO2) considering education through the lens of evidence-based practice with awareness of contemporary educational policy (LO3). To help develop key employability skills and demonstrate digital capabilities students will be required to communicate information effectively in an accessible format for teachers in a mainstream school (LO4). Students will also be required to document and reflect on their process of developing their coursework and what they have learned (LO5).

Thus, the assessment for this module consists of:

Formative assessment: Planning template
To help scaffold students to develop an evidence-based information leaflet students will be required to complete a short planning template outlining their initial ideas and sources. Students will recieve formative feedback on this which they will be able to use when developing their leaflet.

Summative assessment: Information leaflet 
Students will produce an evidence-based information leaflet for mainstream school teachers about an area of special eductional needs. Alongside their submission, students will evidence and reflect on the process of developing the assessment.

Formative assessment, feedback & support

For support, the assessment for this module will be discussed in class. Students will receive formative feedback on their planning template which they can reflect on and use in their preparation of their information leaflet. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to attend an assignment Q&A session, and students will be encouraged to obtain peer feedback on their draft coursework during class to help develop resourcefulness and resilience.

Students will also receive verbal feedback on their topic understanding, ideas and critical thinking from lecturers, and from each other, during in-class discussions. Discussion boards on SurreyLearn will be available for general and coursework related questions and the module convenor will also hold weekly feedback and consultations hours which students are welcome to come along to for support. Assessment feedback will be provided via SurreyLearn.

Module aims

• To develop understanding of how psychology can be applied to educational practice and provide insights into special educational needs and effective interventions.
• To develop the knowledge and skills needed to critically appraise research on a variety of educational issues and appreciate the strengths, weaknesses and methodological challenges of educational research.
• To encourage the consideration of education through the lens of evidence-based practice and develop awareness of contemporary educational policy.
• To develop independent and critical thought through reading research literature, learning about relevant theories, answering questions and discussing case studies.
• To develop the ability to synthesize and communicate information to a non-academic audience.
• To encourage students to engage with and reflect on the process of developing work and the learning that arises from this process.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

 The learning and teaching strategy is designed to develop students' resourcefulness and resilience, employability skills, global and cultural capabilities through:

• Providing students with a thorough grounding in the application of psychology to areas of educational practice and special educational needs.

• Encouraging students to reflect on their own experiences of education and apply these to critical evaluation of theories and empirical findings.

• Developing critical thinking skills that cross the boundaries between theory and practice.

• Encouraging students to consider education through the lens of evidence-based practice.

• Developing students understanding of translational research and provide them with the opportunity to translate research findings for educational practitioners

• Encouraging students to participate in small group/class discussions to develop confidence to share their experiences, views and opinions and their ability to be considerate of other people's experiences, views and opinions.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Seminars including case studies to surface students' pre-existing views on a topic, problem-based learning activities, group discussions, critical discussion of research findings, assignment introduction and Q&A sessions.

• Guided learning activities on SurreyLearn including weekly reading, ¿Consolidating and Applying your knowledge¿ worksheets and reflective log books.

• Captured content including Panopto recordings of seminar content and links to documentaries, websites, videos and podcasts.

• Independent learning

• Formative assessments to develop an integrated body of knowledge

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: PSY3082

Other information

In line with Surrey's Curriculum Framework, we are committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module contributes to the five pillars in the following ways:

Employability (E)

As this module is positioned towards the end of the programme, the coursework assessment takes on a distinctly authentic (real-life) appearance to increase student's skills for future employment. Specifically, the process of producing a research informed information leaflet aimed at a non-academic audience (e.g. teachers/educational practitioners) reflects an aspect of the work an Educational Psychologist (or other applied psychology professional) might be asked to do. Being able to translate psychological theory/research for different audiences is a skill which is important in most psychology graduate jobs and thus would be a useful experience to refer to in a job application or interview. Having choice over the topic covered in the leaflet enables the student to take ownership over their learning and work independently. Students will therefore hone skills relevant to their Dissertation and other research-based work in the future, as well as glean insight into skills relevant to all future employment.

Digital capabilities (D)

As with all psychology modules there is a level of digital skill and ability that is expected and demonstrated through engagement with the content and learning materials. All teaching materials and key content will be made available in multimedia forms through the Virtual Learning Environment Surreylearn and students will be expected to supplement set reading with papers found through their own literature searches. Students will therefore gain in depth experience of accessing and using varied digital (and non-digital) sources and search engines. The coursework assessment will also require further digital capabilities, this may include use of various software tools (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, Canva). Students also have access to AI tools through the My AI Surrey platform to enhance their learning.

Global and cultural capabilities (G)

Throughout the module students will be gaining substantial cultural knowledge about the UK education system in particular but with reference to educational systems around the word to increase their global capabilities. There will be the opportunity to consider how psychological approaches and methods have been applied to educational practice and issues in education across the world. In addition, impact of intersections between ethnicity, gender and/or social economic status on education will be considered.

Sustainability (S)

Associated with sustainability, is the central issue running throughout this module of social and political inequalities in education. Specially, students will have the opportunity to consider how psychology can help us understand why inequities exist (e.g. attainment gaps) and inform approaches to minimize inequities and promote quality education for all. Additionally, students will consider the role educational institutions have in promoting wellbeing among students and how psychology can provide insights into special education needs and inform interventions. Students will complete this course with not only recognition of the importance in sustaining such approaches in order to gain future equity for marginalized groups (e.g. students with special educational needs or from minority backgrounds), but also the background knowledge and skill to further generate such thinking in the future and for this to affect their own approach in the workplace and in life more generally.

Resourcefulness and resilience (R)

In this module we aim to provide a supportive learning environment in which dialogue between teachers and students and between students and their peers is encouraged and valued. Formative and summative assessments, in class activities and the guided learning are closely tied to this pillar for this module. To promote resilience, students have choice over their learning in this module i.e. they can choose which area of SEN they focus on for their coursework. The coursework provides a space for students to demonstrate their decision making, research skills, critical thinking, digital capabilities, time management and provides an opportunity for students to respond to formative feedback, document how they have engaged in the process of developing their work and reflect on their own learning resulting from this. Each week students will discuss case studies in groups, providing the opportunity to share experiences and develop communication and reflection skills. Given the importance of reflection for resilience students will have the opportunity to complete a reflective log-book alongside the module which encourages them to consider their understanding of a topic before and after seminars and to reflect on their own personal experience. Students will also be encouraged to support each by providing feedback on draft coursework.

This module has a capped number and may not be available to ERASMUS and other international exchange students. Please check with the International Engagement Office email: ieo.incoming@surrey.ac.uk

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2027/8 academic year.