Averting a Recruitment Crisis in Educational Psychology Services: An investigation of psychology undergraduate perspectives on the profession |
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| Authors: | Norah Frederickson Sue Morris Lisa A Osborne Phil Reed |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology , University College London , Gower Street, London , WC1E 6BT , UK;2. The University of Birmingham , Edgbaston , Birmingham , UK |
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| Abstract: | This paper describes a survey of psychology undergraduates' perceptions of educational psychology, and the factors most likely to motivate or deter them from joining the profession. Results suggest that interest in educational psychology as a career option is at its lowest level for thirty years or more. The paper presents evidence that the current recruitment crisis within the profession needs to be addressed at a number of levels, including: the promotion within first degree programmes of improved understanding of educational psychology as a discipline and a profession, and of the links between basic research and its applicability to educational psychology in practice; the further development of the role which educational psychologists (EPs) fulfil, and the accurate dissemination of information about the profession; stream-lining and rationalising post-graduate training routes for psychology graduates, in order to offer a more accessible career route, and maximising its direct relevance in supporting the acquisition of core professional skills; and attenting to pay and conditions within the profession, so that it competes on more equal terms with other career destinations considered by undergraduates. |
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