Psychology teachers and lecturers from six European countries gathered at Sighthill Campus on Saturday 25th October. The European Federation of Psychology Teachers’ Associations (EFPTA) exists to promote psychology education at pre-university level. Scandinavian countries which regularly top international league tables, such as Finland and Denmark, are leading the way in bringing the benefits of psychology education to school-age children, and in Scotland thousands of young people have achieved Higher Psychology since its introduction in 2000. At the event, delegates discussed various issues including the need to raise awareness about pre-tertiary psychology education (PTPE) in Europe amongst educators, academics, the psychology professions, and the general public.
Dr Phyllis Laybourn, Subject Group Leader for Psychology, said: "Many Psychology undergraduates here at Edinburgh Napier have studied Psychology for Higher or A-level, and often tell us that it provided a good basis for their degree." She added: "The expansion of pre-university psychology also means that becoming a psychology teacher is now a realistic career option for our psychology graduates, as post-graduate teacher-training courses for Psychology in secondary schools will be available next year in Scotland for the first time."
Morag Williamson, a Psychology lecturer in the School of Life, Sport and Social Sciences, who has also taught extensively in schools and colleges, is the Scottish representative to the European Federation. She said: "It’s important that all young people in Europe have this opportunity to learn psychology at school and college, whether or not they continue to study it at university, as knowledge and skills in psychology help prepare a young person for work and for life."
Across Europe, the number of young people studying Psychology at school as well as at university has steadily increased for several decades, however Psychologists are aware that some myths and misperceptions of the discipline still persist. Morag added: "In teaching Psychology to younger students, we are tackling these misperceptions. The more children and young people learn about psychology at school, the greater the level of psychological literacy in the population. An understanding of the basics of human behaviour, thinking and emotions can be of tremendous benefit, not just to the individual but to their community, in terms of self-insight and awareness of interpersonal processes, as well as ways of addressing social issues such as healthy lifestyle, mental health, sustainability, prejudice and violence."
EFPTA holds a biennial conference, most recently in April 2014 in Berlin.
Check the website for details of the spring 2016 conference.
Psychology students are welcome to attend EFPTA events through membership of the UK Association for the Teaching of Psychology; see
www.theatp.org and
www.efpta.org.