Abstract
It has always been mentioned that educational psychology had almost no relation to educational practice. Not so many educational psychologists in Japan have become to be concerned with learning on educational events in the classroom. However, few Japanese educational psychologists have sufficient interest in educational practice
In this symposium, the cause of educational psychologists' luck of interest on educational events and the way educational psychologists would have interests on educational practice was discussed. Three discussants who were teachers of primary and middle school in Japan, claimed that educational psychology studied at the university, was almost useless when teaching ordinary subjects in the classroom. They also mentioned that they could effectively teach pupils subjects in the classroom without any knowledge of educational psychology.
It was suggested that these results were due to the following points: almost all educational psychologists seem to know little of the actual circumstances of educational practice. Therefore, they have not investigated some actual problems of educational events in a school setting. For example, learning disability, interaction between instruction and development, psychological analysis of instruction, instructional method of some concrete subjects, and so on. These problems have to be solved in a near future. So it is necessary that educational psychologists investigate concrete problems of educational practice with teachers.
It was also suggested that the psychologists should promote professional investigators majoring in the instructional psychology of certain subjects. In any case, it is not sufficient for educational psychologists to study only extremly special problems in the laboratory, and apply only psychological principles to educational practices. Psychologists too have to go to school and observe what is happening in the lassroom.
