¿Qué es la psicopedagogía y qué hace un psicopedagogo?

What are the origins of educational psychology?

Educational psychology is a relatively young science. The term was coined in France in 1908 by G. Persigout, although its practice as an applied discipline began to develop in the United States in the late 19th century.

It became firmly established in the second half of the 20th century, driven by figures such as Jean Piaget (psychogenetic theory), Lev Vygotsky (sociocultural learning), David Ausubel (meaningful learning) and Jerome Bruner. These authors laid the theoretical foundations for understanding how people learn and how the environment influences that process.

Today, educational psychology is an internationally recognised discipline, with specific university training and a professional role found in schools, hospitals, businesses and private practices.

What is educational psychology for?

Educational psychology helps to identify what is hindering a person’s learning and to design specific strategies to help them overcome these obstacles. It is not limited to cases of severe difficulty: it also works with students who simply wish to improve their performance, study habits or motivation.

Its three main benefits are:

• To prevent learning difficulties before they become entrenched.
• To identify, through specific assessments, what is hindering educational development.
• To intervene with personalised action plans tailored to each individual .

These functions are applied in school settings as well as in clinical, family or workplace contexts.

What are the different types of educational psychology?

Depending on the field of application, educational psychology is divided into three main branches:

Educational psychopedagogy

This is the most widespread branch. Professionals work in primary and secondary schools and universities, collaborating with teachers and families to improve pupils’ academic performance, social integration and wellbeing. Their day-to-day work includes educational psychology assessments, career guidance and the design of curricular adaptations for pupils with special educational needs.

Clinical educational psychology

This takes place in healthcare settings: hospitals, mental health centres or private clinics. It involves working with people who have more severe learning difficulties or those linked to specific medical conditions. Collaboration with psychologists, neurologists and doctors is common in this field.

Community Educational Psychology

This takes place in the social sector: social services, NGOs, rehabilitation centres or adult education programmes. Its aim is to address the educational needs of groups at risk of exclusion, working from a community-based and inclusive perspective.

What are the roles of an educational psychologist?

The educational psychologist acts as a bridge between the student, the family and the educational environment. These are their main roles:

Assessment and diagnosis

Through interviews, standardised tests and direct observation, the educational psychologist identifies what is hindering learning. They can detect conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia, dysgraphia or difficulties with reading comprehension, amongst others.

Personalised intervention

Once the problem has been identified, they design a bespoke action plan: one-to-one sessions, techniques to improve attention and memory, tailored study strategies or programmes to develop social skills.

Advice for families and teachers

The educational psychologist does not work solely with the pupil. They guide families on how to support learning at home and advise teachers on more inclusive and effective classroom methodologies.

Academic and career guidance

They help students gain a better understanding of themselves – their strengths, learning styles and interests – so they can make more informed academic and career decisions.

Design of curricular adaptations

In collaboration with the teaching team, they adapt content, timings and teaching methods so that pupils with specific needs can access the curriculum on an equal footing.

What learning difficulties does an educational psychologist work with?

Among the most common learning difficulties addressed by an educational psychologist are:

• Dyslexia: difficulty in recognising and processing written letters and words.
• Dyscalculia: problems understanding and working with numbers and maths.
• Dysgraphia: difficulty writing legibly and fluently, affecting the formation of letters.
• ADHD: attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity, which affects concentration, organisation and impulse control.
• Reading comprehension difficulties: the ability to read correctly but difficulty in understanding and retaining the meaning of the text.
• Spatial orientation problems: difficulty distinguishing between left and right or up and down, which can affect reading and writing.
• Underachievement due to emotional or family factors: situations of stress, anxiety or conflict in the student’s environment that hinder their ability to learn.

It is important to emphasise that the educational psychologist does not work exclusively with those who have difficulties. They also work to enhance the abilities of any student who wishes to improve their performance or study habits.

When is it advisable to see an educational psychologist?

It may be the right time to seek help when:

• Academic performance declines steadily for no apparent reason.
• The student shows persistent resistance to learning or school.
• Specific difficulties with reading, writing or maths emerge.
• Signs of anxiety related to exams or the school environment are detected.
• Teachers or family members observe behaviour that makes it difficult for the student to concentrate or get on with others.
• A teenager or adult needs guidance in making academic or career decisions.

Early intervention makes a very significant difference. The sooner a difficulty is identified and addressed, the better the outcomes tend to be.

Is educational psychology only for children?

No. Although it is usually associated with school-age children, educational psychology works with people of all ages:

• Children and teenagers: learning difficulties, adjusting to school and career guidance.
• Adults: continuing professional development, career change or difficulties with concentration and memory.
• Older people: monitoring learning and maintaining cognitive autonomy as they age.

The discipline is based on the premise that learning is a lifelong process. For this reason, there is no age limit to its scope.

How does an educational psychologist differ from a psychologist?

Although both work to promote people’s wellbeing, their approaches differ. A psychologist assesses and treats mental and emotional health in a broad sense; an educational psychologist focuses specifically on how a person learns and what interferes with that process. If you’d like to find out more about these differences, here we take an in-depth look at the distinction between educational psychology and educational psychology.

What are the career prospects in educational psychology?

Educational psychologists can pursue careers in schools, private clinics, social services, hospitals or corporate training departments. If you’d like to find out more about the professional profiles and job opportunities, we’ve covered this in our article on the career prospects for the Master’s in Educational Psychology.

How do you train in educational psychology?

To practise as an educational psychologist in Spain, the usual route is to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and then specialise with an official Master’s degree in Educational Psychology. This postgraduate programme provides the technical skills required for the assessment, diagnosis and intervention in learning difficulties, as well as knowledge of the current legal and educational framework.

At UAX, we offer the Master’s in Educational Psychology, with a strongly practical focus geared towards the discipline’s main areas of intervention.

Summary

Educational psychology is the discipline that studies how people learn in order to prevent, detect and intervene in the difficulties that hinder this process. It is divided into three branches (educational, clinical and community) and the educational psychologist acts as a bridge between the student, the family and the educational environment. Their roles range from diagnosing difficulties such as dyslexia or ADHD to providing career guidance and advising teachers. It is not a discipline solely for children: it works with people of all ages. If you wish to pursue a career in this field, the most direct route is to undertake a specialised, officially recognised Master’s degree.

Sources

• Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training
• General Council of Official Associations of Pedagogy and Educational Psychology (CGCOPyP)
• Piaget, J. (1969). Psychology and Pedagogy. Ariel Publishers.
• Vygotsky, L.S. (1979). The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Crítica.
• Ausubel, D.P. (1983). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive Perspective. Trillas Publishers.