What is psychopedagogy and why is it important?

Psychopedagogy is an indisputable pillar in every advanced society. Its work, focused on promoting learning processes in human beings, guarantees that any person reaches their maximum cognitive, emotional and behavioral potential. What’s more, their tasks and responsibilities do not fall exclusively within the school environment.

Its function is to evaluate, prevent and develop interventions so that every individual, regardless of age, adapts to their environment and has a good quality of life. An example of this is support for older adults. This discipline also presents certain particularities that differentiate it from pedagogy. In the following article we detail everything you need to know about the subject.

What is psychopedagogy

Psychopedagogy is the science aimed at the study of learning processes and the optimization of teaching. It should be noted that it is a young discipline. Its foundations were laid as a result of the work Essais de Pédologie Générale (1910), by Jean-Paul Persigout . From here, figures such as Jean Piaget or David Ausubel enriched it.

On the other hand, although it is true that it shares very similar plots to the pedagogy itself, there are nuances that make it unique. Its approach is more clinical and, among its purposes, is both prevention, detection and intervention. in individual learning problems. Below, we give you more details to understand these differences in each area.

Differences with pedagogy

Pedagogy is an interdisciplinary science that seeks to facilitate effective learning environments. It has more to do, therefore, with the research and reflection of educational theories. Their tasks and responsibilities are very extensive, but do not include, for example, evaluation and diagnosis activities. Let’s clarify a little more.

Approach

While Pedagogy focuses on teaching and education in general; Psychopedagogy seeks to identify and address learning difficulties. To do this, it evaluates, diagnoses and designs specific interventions in order to help students overcome any difficulty.

Aim

The purpose of pedagogy is to develop mechanisms so that teaching is effective. Designs study plans and selects appropriate teaching methods. A psychopedagogue, for his part, seeks to understand how each person learns, what their difficulties are, and help them. to overcome any barriers that may arise in this process.

The psychopedagogue evaluates the cognitive, affective and social part of the child or adult in order to enhance their abilities in any given context. To do this, he has extensive knowledge in areas such as neuroscience, psychopathology and human development.

What are the objectives of a psychopedagogue

Psychopedagogy transcends school settings and reaches any social sphere. It is important to clarify this aspect, because it is common to associate the figure of these professionals, almost exclusively, with schools and institutes. However, as they clarify in the Indian Journal of Public Health, they can also intervene in the field of mental health, such as schizophrenia.

In this case, their work is to improve the quality of life among caregivers of patients with this condition. By this, we mean that the purpose of this science is to detect needs and improve every learning situation. Although it is evident that the area where most of their efforts are focused is in school. Let’s now see what your objectives are.

1. Study of learning

Psychopedagogues investigate how people acquire and process information. They also try to elucidate how they solve problems, are motivated to learn, and develop cognitively and emotionally throughout their lives.

2. Detection and diagnosis of difficulties

We have pointed this out to you in the previous section. One of its objectives has to do with the clinical field and is the evaluation of learning difficulties. They detect possible developmental problems, neurological disorders, difficulties related to reading, writing, mathematics, attention, memory, etc.

3. Intervention and support

Once difficulties are identified, Psychopedagogues design and apply intervention strategies to help children or adults to overcome their obstacles. This ranges from the implementation of individualized support programs, to individual therapy, as well as educational guidance and advice to parents and teachers.

On the other hand, This discipline is concerned with the emotional and social well-being of students and not only because of their academic performance. His work is comprehensive and he always seeks to collaborate with all social agents.

4. Promotion of educational success

Early detection of students at risk, along with preventive measures, promotes educational success. Psychopedagogues also have such a purpose.

These professionals help identify and address barriers that hinder student learning. This, as we well know, maximizes their chances of having more job opportunities tomorrow. All of this adds up to providing quality of life in the short and long term.

5. Educational inclusion

Educational inclusion is part of social justice. Thus, as described in Frontiers in Psychology, all children should have the same opportunities when it comes to learning, regardless of the difficulties they present. In this sense, psychopedagogy collaborates with this goal, since It helps every student with special needs reach their maximum potential.

6. Prevention of long-term problems

One more time, Psychopedagogues are key when it comes to preventing both school dropouts and any educational difficulties. To do this, they focus their efforts on early detection and intervention of any learning problem.

7. Improvement of educational quality

These professionals They cooperate with the development of more effective educational practices, providing teachers, educational institutions and even families with tools and strategies to address the diversified needs of students.

Tools used by this science of learning

Psychopedagogical science uses a variety of tools and methods in its daily work. Generally, these resources vary depending on the requirements of the person on whom your intervention focuses. Caring for a student with autism is not the same as caring for an older adult with dementia.

In general, there is a psychopedagogical evaluation with interviews, observations, standardized tests and evaluation scales, to identify the student’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as possible learning difficulties.

Parents and teachers are also interviewed to understand the behavior and performance of the student in different environments. Let’s see, next, what other mechanisms are basic in this discipline of learning.

Clinical interviews

These meetings They serve to collect information about the student’s developmental history, as well as traumatic events, emotional problems or any other factor that affects their learning.

Direct observation

What educators and families say is not always enough. Psychopedagogues must also observe the student in the classroom and in other contexts, to evaluate their behavior and how they perform.

Academic Aptitude Tests

These test batteries are always at the hand of educational psychologists because They are used to detect writing problems such as dysgraphia, reading, reading comprehension or mathematical reasoning.

Psychometric test

These are designed to evaluate specific cognitive abilities, such as intelligence quotient (IQ), memory, attention, etc. They include the WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and the WAIS (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults).

Educative technology

exist software specialized educational programs to help students with learning difficulties, which They offer everything from assisted reading programs to math applications or to enhance attention and memory. It is something innovative and very useful.

Psychopedagogical interventions

Once all the information is collected, if deemed appropriate, the intervention will proceed. They range from educational support programs to individual or group therapy. Creative Education magazine describes, for example, how educational psychologists intervene with university students with disabilities and other problems.

Psychopedagogy is a nuclear discipline in every advanced society

In a world in constant evolution, where each student has different needs and learning rates, psychopedagogical science plays an essential role. He doesn’t just care about academic performance. The ultimate goal is to promote equal opportunities and the full development of each individual.

Their work is the basis of any society that calls itself advanced and modern. Because These figures are essential to strengthen educational systems and guarantee that everyone has the same opportunities to reach their maximum academic and personal potential. Don’t hesitate to rate their work.

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