PreHE Psychology

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Pre-HE Psychology

• Simon Green
• Chief Examiner AQA Psychology

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Psychology - Skills

• Knowledge approaches, theories, studies
• Evaluative and Analytic conceptual and critical
  awareness of arguments and debates
• Research methods, scientific method, qualitative
  approaches
• Ability to present coherent and logical
  arguments literacy and numeracy

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Psychology - Content

• Core areas (BPS subject benchmarks QCA
  criteria)
• Social, cognitive, biopsychology, individual
  differences, developmental, comparative etc
• Research methods quantitative AND qualitative
  methods

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Psychology AS/A2 - Problems

• Coverage and amount of content core areas can
  only be sampled, and not necessarily all
  implications for HE preparation
• Knowledge skills often impressive evaluative and
  analytical skills undeveloped and rote-learnt.
  Little emphasis on research progress through
  empirical findings, no sense of a developing
  science, over-emphasis on ethics and validity

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Psychology AS/A2 - Problems

• Specification and texts emphasise knowledge
  skills at the expense of true understanding
  driven by assessments (AO1 and AO2)
• Apparent in the Advanced Extension Award weak
  understanding of approaches and applications,
  debates and issues. Inability to apply principles
  of research methodology to novel problems

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Psychology AS/A2 Solutions ?

• Clear aims of the AS and A2 (employers, HE
  ?). Knowledge content reduced, emphasis on
  approaches and understanding
• Better reflection of contemporary psychology to
  link with HE ?
• Clearer aims for Research Methods
• TEACHING BY SUBJECT SPECIALISTS

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Extending Students

• Adding AEA-style questions to current A2 papers
  raises huge practical problems for students and
  examiners e.g. standardising examiners on more
  open-ended AEA questions
• AEA cannot be piggy-backed on the A2 as it stands
  more of the same phenomena needs clearer
  specification of the required skills and more
  effective teaching at AS/A2

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Psychology as a Science - Problems

• Clash with public/student perception
• Not all psychology is scientific ignored ?
• Psychology as a Science is difficult not an
  easy option

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Psychology as a Science - Advantages

• Acceptable face of scientific methodology
  research design and statistics
• Literacy and numeracy
• Application of science to the study of human
  behaviour developmental, clinical, personality,
  health, sports

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Psychology as Science - Pitfalls

• What is the aim ? Popular choice versus
  scientific rigour..inversely related (drop-off
  from AS to A2) many commercial interests
• Who is going to teach it ? Requires wholesale
  shift in public perception of wehat Psychology
  is.
• What are they going to teach ? How many
  specifications, and how consistent ?

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Pre-HE Psychology and HE - Possibilities

• No relationship make pre-HE Psychology as
  attractive as possible, minimal pure scientific
  content, coherent stopping off points (GCSE, AS,
  A2) driven by as few core elements as possible

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Pre-HE Psychology and HE - Possibilities

• HE requirements drive pre-HE Psychology
  teaching.but HE has no coherent requirements
  (outside of e.g. research methods), because
  Psychology has no core content (apart from
  classic studies and approaches), only core
  areas.and even these should be evolving..
• Conclusion if there are pre-HE requirements they
  should focus on approaches and methodologies, not
  exhaustive coverage of topics

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Pre-HE Psychology and HE

• Psychology A level will not become a
  pre-requisite for HE Psychology in the
  foreseeable future
• Attainable objective students with A C in
  Psychology A level should be assumed to have
  competence in general approaches, methodologies,
  and research design

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Psychology as Science

• Pre-HE Psychology has been an astonishing
  success. Spec innovation and revision is an
  opportunity to disseminate a particular view of
  Psychology its relevance and methods, and the
  relationship between the two..and in particular
  the public perception of the subject.
• This will not be easy