The Social Psychology of the Primary School

This book sets out to reassess the role of social psychology in educational practice for the primary classroom. It offers an analysis of the ways in which the process and structure of classroom life affect the inter-personal and academic outcomes of schooling. Social schooling is seen to have a crucial role to play in achieving effective teaching and meaningful learning, while promoting other useful developments in the primary classroom. The authors study classroom interaction and relationships and consider how these might be structured for the best outcomes. With so much attention being focused recently on the National Curriculum, this book seeks to provide a balance for the current curricula-oriented view of teaching by attempting to improve understanding of how curricula are implemented in the classroom. There are contributions on the thory of social psychology in the primary education process as well as its practical application. Thus, motivation and the social development of primary age children are covered as well as relationships and social interaction in the classroom, gender, and special educational needs.