Teaching Psychology At Undergraduate Level: Rethinking What We Teach And How We Teach It

Traditionally undergraduate psychology has maintained an allegiance to a positivist scientist-practitioner model and has focussed on building a solid theoretical foundation. The development of skills and self-awareness has typically been the domain of postgraduate study. It is argued that in the pr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sonja Goedeke
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tuwhera Open Access Publisher 2007-04-01
Series:New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work
Online Access:https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/485
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Traditionally undergraduate psychology has maintained an allegiance to a positivist scientist-practitioner model and has focussed on building a solid theoretical foundation. The development of skills and self-awareness has typically been the domain of postgraduate study. It is argued that in the process of trying to justify itself as a ‘science’, psychology has lost many of the aspects that first attracts people to its study: the desire for greater understanding of self, others and social phenomena. This article reflects on the experience of offering an undergraduate degree that integrates theory and a valuing of personal and vocational development. A less positivist-dominated formulation of the scientist-practitioner model may offer a constructive way in which to unite the ‘human’ and ‘scientific’ sides of psychology.
ISSN:1176-6662