Educational psychology as a distinct experimental science whose standard course takes the learning process as its backbone¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article argues that educational psychology deserves status as a distinct discipline because education is a significant field of application of psychological truth, comparing it to agriculture: "Experimental pedagogy is just as important and just as possible as experimental farming." It holds that the learning process should form the backbone of standard courses, studied experimentally rather than a priori, preferably in the school system, with constant application in laboratories or schools and differentiation of courses by the type of educator being prepared.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Experiments carried out throughout the entire field of education, ideally under school conditions normal for scientific investigation
Laboratory training of instructors in pedagogical apparatus such as Binet tests before laboratory work is attempted

Constraints¶

The author admits much laboratory work is at present inexact and subject to constant revision, and that mental phenomena elude absolutely exact measurement
Articulating experimentation with the public school system presents difficulties the article acknowledges, though it sees no other wholly adequate means of arriving at pedagogical truth

Target Learners¶

College and university students preparing to be teachers, supervising school officers, normal school instructors, and educational investigators

Learning Goals¶

Understanding the laws of the learning process and their experimental investigation
Applying psychological principles to school subjects and teaching methods

Claims¶

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

Hall-Quest, Alfred L. (1918). Present Tendencies in Educational Psychology. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`educational-psychology-distinct-experimental-science`
`title`	`Educational psychology as a distinct experimental science whose standard course takes the learning process as its backbone`
`description`	`The article argues that educational psychology deserves status as a distinct discipline because education is a significant field of application of psychological truth, comparing it to agriculture: "Experimental pedago...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-10-23`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `hall-quest-1918`

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