Psychology can be applied to understanding a range of current issues and topics in teaching and educational practice. Starting with the question, ‘what is psychology?’, and a topical overview of child and adolescent development, Stephen James Minton moves on to discuss seven areas of contemporary concern in education, showing how psychological approaches can help teachers in key areas of practice.

Teachers often find that their training has not provided them with sufficient knowledge and understanding about underlying social forces and processes in their classrooms. This new book addresses this gap by focusing on the social psychology of the classroom, providing the relevant social psychological knowledge and facilitating the application of

The Routledge International Handbook of Social Psychology of the Classroom presents the first comprehensive and integrated compilation of theory and research on topics related to the social cohesion of the classroom. Many of these topics have been studied independently; for example, motivation, self-concept, class management, class climate, and teacher expectations are generally studied separately by different groups of researchers. This handbook brings the evidence from different fields in social psychological classroom research together in one place for the first time to explore how these topics relate and how each factor influences students and their learning. With chapters by established international leaders in their fields, as well as emerging new talent, this handbook offers cutting edge research and surveys the state of the art in the social psychology of the classroom. Major areas covered include: Motivation Belief, self-concept, and personality Emotional engagement Teacher–student relationships Teacher expectation Classroom management Culture and identity The Routledge International Handbook of Social Psychology of the Classroom provides a review of current theories related to the social psychology of the classroom, including how these theories apply to classrooms and learners. Current evidence clearly shows that areas explored by social psychology – and brought together for the first time in this volume – can have a very significant impact on classroom learning and student achievement (J. Hattie, Visible Learning: A Synthesis of over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, Routledge 2009). This handbook is a must for all academics whose research relates to the social psychology of the classroom. It is also an invaluable resource for teachers and teacher education students who want to understand why they are effective instructors and yet still encounter students in their classes who are not responding as expected.

Use the neuroscience of emotional learning to transform your teaching. How can the latest breakthroughs in the neuroscience of emotional learning transform the classroom? How can teachers use the principles and practices of positive psychology to ensure optimal 21st-century learning experiences for all children? Patty O’Grady answers those questions. Positive Psychology in the Elementary School Classroom presents the basics of positive psychology to educators and provides interactive resources to enrich teachers’ proficiency when using positive psychology in the classroom. O’Grady underlines the importance of teaching the whole child: encouraging social awareness and positive relationships, fostering self-motivation, and emphasizing social and emotional learning. Through the use of positive psychology in the classroom, children can learn to be more emotionally aware of their own and others’ feelings, use their strengths to engage academically and socially, pursue meaningful lives, and accomplish their personal goals. The book begins with Martin Seligman’s positive psychology principles, and continues into an overview of affective learning, including its philosophical and psychological roots, from finding the “golden mean” of emotional regulation to finding a child’s potencies and “golden self.” O’Grady connects the core concepts of educational neuroscience to the principles of positive psychology, explaining how feelings permeate the brain, affecting children’s thoughts and actions; how insular neurons make us feel empathy and help us learn by observation; and how the frontal cortex is the hall monitor of the brain. The book is full of practical examples and interactive resources that invite every educator to create a positive psychology classroom, where children can flourish and reach their full potential.

Includes "Official department" conducted by Superintendent of Public Instruction.