The University of Toledo

Educational Psychology

The Educational Psychology concentration in the Department of Foundations of Education at The University of Toledo offers MA and Ph.D. degrees in Educational Psychology.  Educational psychology is devoted to the study of the psychological dimensions of education, teaching, learning, and human development.

The Educational Psychology Program offers two areas of specialization: 

(1)    Human Development.  Human development concerns the study of developmental age trends; the causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive, social, and emotional development; and the unfolding of human development in various cultural contexts, including the development of cultural identity.
 
(2)    Learning and Cognitive Science. Learning and cognitive science explores student learning as well as complex cognitive processes and their impact in educational contexts. This area also considers the impact of affective and cultural influences, including motivation, on cognitive processing.

The following questions constitute broad categories of inquiry that frame the inquiry-based model of graduate education in Educational Psychology:

• What is the nature of learning?
• What is the relationship between motivation and learning?
• What is the impact of social and cultural factors on learning?
• What is the relationship between affect and cognition?
• What is the nature of human development?
• What constitutes development through the life cycle?
• What is the impact of social and cultural forces on human development?
• What is the impact of the knowledge of learning and human development on educational theory, policy, and practice?

Each area of specialization incorporates the most recent trends in psychology with implications and applications for education and other social service settings. 

Graduates of the program find employment in university teaching and research, government agencies, and business.