These two disciplines have points in common, but also notable differences.
Even today, there are those who believe that the relationship between these two disciplines is that one is within the other. To clarify a little why these two sciences are two different disciplines and what characterizes them,we will address in this article the differences between psychology and pedagogy.
Psychology and pedagogy: definitions
Before addressing in greater depth what are the differences between psychology and pedagogy, it is necessary to explain what these two disciplines are about and what they have in common.
Psychology
Psychology (from the Greek “psyché”, “soul, mental activity” and “logos”, “knowledge”) is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those that are behind how we behave and is constituted as a science of health and also social. Thus, this science tries to understand the human being taking into account three dimensions: behavioral, affective and cognitive.
Throughout its history, different psychological currents have emerged, trying to explain from their own point of view the relationship between the human mind and behavior in particular contexts.
Pedagogy
On the other hand, pedagogy (from the Greek “paidíon” “child” and “agogós” “guide”) is the science that deals with education, especially that focused on children and adolescents.
This discipline focuses its action on organizing the educational process, with the intention of being able to ensure that students learn the knowledge and behavioral patterns to be people adapted to society and become profitable adults. Pedagogy is within the social sciences and education.
How do they look alike?
The main aspect that both disciplines share is the intention of offering knowledge to society , in order to make it a better place in which the citizens who live in it achieve the greatest possible well-being.
In addition, both the psychologist and the pedagogue must have assertive and empathic abilities, since they work with people. Both types of professionals must know how to interact with the people to whom their intervention is directed, whether in an educational environment or in a more psychotherapeutic one.
It should be noted that one of the branches of psychology is mixed with the object of study of pedagogy: psychopedagogy. This branch of knowledge is defined as the part of psychology that focuses on studying psychological phenomena to arrive at a more adequate formulation of the teaching methods used in class.
Main differences between Psychology and Pedagogy
Next we will see what are the main differences between psychology and pedagogy .
1. Fields of study
Psychology is a science that focuses its attention on mental processes and how they explain the behavior of people, whether it is pathological or normative. To do this, it addresses aspects such as intelligence , emotions and people’s lives.
Usually, the intervention of psychologists is carried out reactively, that is, when the person is already suffering from a problem that must be solved.
This problem does not necessarily have to be a mental disorder, but it is true that many psychologists are required in order to solve a problem instead of avoiding it.
Pedagogy focuses on education and training, especially of young people . For this, it is intended to provide the members of society with knowledge that will enable them to function as well-adapted citizens in the future.
To make the educational process as efficient as possible, it is necessary to analyze students, both when they are learning in the classroom and when they are learning in other places, be it their home or the library.
Based on the information obtained from the students, the pedagogues elaborate methods to be able to enhance the desired capacities in the students.
The action of pedagogy is preventive and formative, since it tries to prevent the difficulties seen during the first years of schooling from becoming something more serious in later stages.
2. Objectives
As has been mentioned before, the main objective of psychology is to try to describe human behavior as objectively as possible, in addition to giving it an explanation. This is intended to be able to predict and influence behavior.
In the case of pedagogy, the aim is to improve the educational process . To do this, pedagogues focus their efforts on offering comprehensive training to students, taking into account their abilities and talents without ignoring the possible difficulties they may manifest.
3. Work areas
Since there are different types of psychologists and the specializations within this field are numerous, professionals in psychology can be found in many places .
Reviewing the branches of this discipline that would be within the health sciences, we find psychologists who perform psychotherapy and diagnose, as is the case with clinical psychologists and those who have specialized in neurology .
On the social science side, we have the social psychologist, the organizational psychologist, and those who specialize in human resources. There are also educational psychologists.
Thus, psychology is present in: hospitals, companies, government bodies, research centers, schools and universities.
Pedagogues can be found in various places, mainly in schools, institutes and universities . However, there are also educators in museums, NGOs, early stimulation centers…
4. Deepening in biology
Psychology is a social science, but it is also within the field of health . This means that psychologists need some knowledge related to physiology, anatomy and, above all, biology.
It is true that within psychology there are multiple branches, some of which, such as the field of social psychology or the psychology of organizations, do not focus their interest on the biological causes of behavior.
It must be said that one should not fall into the error of thinking that all human behavior can be reduced to simple biological explanations.
However, for the psychologist, especially the clinician, it is of fundamental importance to know how the brain is involved in human behavior.
The brain is a very complex organ, and it is behind many capacities. To say a few, this organ is responsible for attention and perception, language, memory or intelligence in general terms.
Pedagogues may need to know some facts about biology, however, this science does not acquire the same importance as it does for psychologists.
The physiological functioning of the child and adolescent brain is something that, although it may be interesting, does not become essential knowledge for the pedagogue to carry out his professional task.
5. Relationship with teaching
While psychology deals with aspects of biology in great detail, pedagogy does the same but with the processes of teaching .
Although one of the branches of psychology, the psychology of education, takes as a focus of interest the psychological processes that intervene during learning, the truth is that there is not so much interest in general psychology.
The pedagogy focuses on seeing what behaviors related to learning occur in the classroom context, in addition to developing tools and methods that facilitate the training of students.
Didactics, which is a branch within pedagogy itself, tries to perfect teaching techniques and methods, always taking into account all the people involved.
The pedagogue must take into account both the perspective of the student and that of the teacher when knowledge is being shared.
Pedagogues take into account how teaching should be planned based on the age range of the students, their difficulties both within the normal range or problems that may indicate some type of disability.
Pedagogues must know how to detect those students who are going through difficulties, see what the seriousness of the problem is and approach a method to ensure that knowledge is fully acquired and prevent the child or young person from being left behind.
But it not only focuses on how students learn, it also gives importance to how to instruct teachers and other active agents in the education system to ensure that their teaching task is satisfactorily fulfilled.
References
- Ramírez, R. (2008). Critical pedagogy. An ethical way to generate educational processes. Folios (28): 108-119.
- Cuesta, R., Mainer, J., Mateos, J. et al. (2005) Critical didactics. Where need and desire meet. Social Con-science. 17-54.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
