Educational and developmental psychologists can help teachers, education facilities and education communities maximise learning impacts and outcomes.
Helping teachers teach and students learn can be incredibly rewarding.
Significant training and education is required to be a primary and secondary teacher or to work at these levels. Your state or territory’s tertiary admissions centre can provide specific details on the education courses available.
Other options within education include integration aides in schools, student services in the tertiary sector and customer service and administration roles within schools and universities.
Educational and developmental psychologists have knowledge and skills in the following areas:
- Identifying and clarifying problems
- Diagnosing disabilities and disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Assessing developmental, learning and behavioural difficulties
- Designing effective treatment programs
- Counselling
- Consulting with individuals or groups
- Designing training programs
- Evaluating programs and interventions
- Designing professional development programs.
Specific areas of practice
There are several main areas that 'Ed and Dev' psychologists work in.
Early childhood
Parents may seek help for:
- Concerns with a child’s development and/or parent-child relationship issues
- Managing a child’s difficult temperament or behaviour
- Assisting a child with disabilities
- Sibling rivalry in the family
School years
Parents, teachers or children themselves may seek assistance to deal with:
- Problems with transition
- School avoidance
- Learning difficulties
- Poor peer relationships
- Low self esteem
- Problems with behaviour
- Family relationships
- Physical or sexual abuse
Adolescence
Adolescents, their parents or others concerned with their welfare may seek help to deal with:
- Conflict between adolescent and parents
- Peer pressure
- Career guidance
- School to work transition
- Sexuality issues
- Drug and alcohol problems
- Identity issues
Adulthood
Individuals, their partners or employers may seek assistance with:
- Relationship problems
- Parenting issues
- Mid-life concerns
- Career restructuring
- Work stress
- Education and training in the workplace
Later adulthood
Elderly people or their adult children may seek information or assistance with:
- Healthy ageing
- Coping with decline in functioning
- Dependency
Find out more about psychology careers in education by contacting the APS College of Education and Development Psychologists.