Educators who want to apply research, counseling, and evaluation methodologies in a learning environment should pursue an educational psychology degree. Educators can use educational psychology degree programs to better understand the learning characteristics of various students. Graduate programs in educational psychology provide educators with a better understanding of the behavioral and emotional aspects of student learning. A postgraduate degree covers the same material as a bachelor’s degree, but it also prepares educators to conduct research studies on a variety of student groups. Certificate programs in educational psychology can help educators gain more experience in counseling students.
In general, all types of educational psychology degree programs have coursework to understand aspects of student learning. Cognitive learning techniques and developmental psychology are common topics of study in graduate degree programs. Educators may receive a combination of classroom instruction and practical experience in a student learning environment through postgraduate degree coursework. Educators may take coursework such as human growth theories in order to prepare for a licensing exam.
Graduate degree programs typically help educators improve their ability to assess students’ learning needs. These programs may concentrate on human development and cognitive theories that can be used to predict learning patterns. Educators who pursue graduate degrees in educational psychology may gain additional skills in conducting research studies.
A specialization in areas that affect student learning abilities may be available as part of several graduate educational psychology degrees. Educators with one type of specialization might be able to help students with learning disabilities. Most educators might pursue this specialty to meet local or regional requirements for student counseling certification.
Another area of specialization could be behavioral and cognitive evaluations for students in various learning categories. Adult learners, adolescence, and special education are examples of these categories. This program specialization can help educators learn how to use techniques that affect students’ learning capacity in each category.
Specialized areas of educational psychology may be included in postgraduate educational psychology degree programs. Postgraduate degrees, unlike graduate degrees, where the majority of educators work directly with students, take a scholarly approach to evaluation and assessment methodologies. Most educators are trained in a research setting to evaluate processes that may influence learning outcomes. Typically, training is obtained through the collection of statistical data in order to comprehend the relationship between learning and human capabilities.
In general, certificate degree programs in educational psychology are available to educators who already have a graduate degree in the field. This type of degree program may include classroom instruction as well as participation in an internship to meet certificate diploma requirements. After earning an educational psychology certificate, educators may be able to take an exam and obtain a license in the field.
Graduate, postgraduate, and diploma programs in educational psychology are also available online. Many online educational psychology programs have the same structure and coursework as on-campus programs. In general, these degree programs also prepare educators to conduct psychological assessments and evaluate learning techniques.