Review of ‘Keys to Educational Psychology’

 

 

Eloff, I., & Ebersöhn, L. (2004). Keys to educational psychology. Cape Town: UCT Press.

Psychology education is an important element that has been incorporated in almost every sector including schools, hospitals, court rooms and NGOs among others. ‘Keys to Educational Psychology’ by Irma Eloff and Liesel Ebersohn is a book that talks about the concept of educational psychology with a basis of South Africa. This is a country where there are many cases of HIV/AIDS, poverty, unemployment and the post-apartheid landscape that greatly affects the children there (Eloff & Ebersöhn, 2004). The book tries to explain the ways that educational psychology can effectively be introduced in schools to help these children lead better lives.

Liesel Ebersohn is a professor of Educational Psychology in the University of Pretoria, where she has worked for the last ten years and she is also the head of Educational Psychology Department. Irma Eloff is a registered psychologist and the dean of the faculty of education at the University of Pretoria. Both these authors are registered researchers who are rated by National Research Foundation of South Africa.

This is a very interesting book that every person should have in their book shelf; it is a book that is easy to understand for everyone including students and people in various professions. One thing that I particularly liked about this book is that unlike in other psychology based books, Eloff & Ebersöhn clearly define all the psychological terms that are used in every chapter beforehand which makes it very easy for one to understand concepts clearly. There are three teaching methods that are discussed in the book including use of visuals, cooperative learning and inquiry based instruction. Eloff & Ebersöhn (2004) illustrates that cooperative learning is important because it encourages the learners to interact with one another something that promotes self-confidence as well as enhancing critical thinking skills for the learners. The disadvantage of this method is that it is time consuming and it may not be effective for large classes. Visualization is encouraged with the illustration that it helps the learners to understand how lessons learnt in class can be applied in the real world and it also helps them to remember concepts better. The disadvantage with this method is that it can lead to a lot of distractions for the learners which could affect the overall objective of learning. Eloff & Ebersöhn (2004) encourages the use of questions during learning because it helps inspire the students to think critically and investigate their own ideas that lead them to gain a deeper understanding of academic concepts. The disadvantage of this method is that it is time consuming and it could negatively impact the timid students.

The book gives a clear understanding of what educational psychology is all about with clear sectioning of every chapter. The chapters of the book can be read in any sequence because the book provides numerous bases to the range of themes in educational psychology in the contemporary world. Each of the chapter presents an integrated overview of the key concepts, quotations from professionals and students, and it includes reflective questions that can greatly help to guide one’s practice. Eloff & Ebersöhn (2004) ensure that indigenous knowledge within the book is infused with international perspectives and there is equal emphasis that is placed on the learners and on the social context, on assessment and intervention and on matters of theory and practice.

One issue that I can attach to this book is the fact that it is mainly based on issues relating to South Africa. Even though the issues discussed within the book are things that can be applied all over the globe since these are things that happen and affect societies all over the world. This element could easily affect the way that people in other countries identify with the concepts because South Africa keeps being referenced within the book. In the overall, ‘Keys to Educational Psychology’ is a book that is extremely valuable to students, but it can also be used valuably by instructors, psychologists and even health professionals.

Reference