Psychology and Education

Psychology and education is a combination that examines two deeply connected aspects of human development and social life. Psychology provides the scientific tools to understand how people think, feel, learn and develop across the lifespan, and its insights into cognition, motivation, emotion and social behaviour are directly relevant to questions about how education works and why it sometimes fails. Education as a discipline examines how learning is organised and facilitated in schools and other settings, how curriculum and pedagogy are designed, and what the social, cultural and economic dimensions of educational experience are.

Together they give you a particularly strong foundation for careers in which understanding young people and supporting their development is central.

At the University of Keele, this three-year full-time programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society and combines psychological and educational theory to explore how young people and adolescents develop within educational settings. You will study core areas of psychology alongside the educational dimension, developing both the scientific rigour of psychological training and the practical and reflective capacities that work in educational contexts requires. A placement year gives you direct professional experience, a year abroad extends your academic formation, and work placement opportunities are integrated throughout.

Graduates of psychology and education programmes move into a range of careers in education, health and social care. Teaching, educational psychology, youth work, social work, educational welfare, learning support and school counselling are all common directions. The BPS accreditation provides the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership, which is the necessary first step for those wishing to train as educational psychologists or in other applied psychology professions.

Many graduates pursue postgraduate training in educational psychology, counselling, teaching or social work, where the combination of psychological understanding and educational knowledge they have developed provides a strong foundation.