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Presentation
Presentation
This curricular unit focuses on the conceptual and empirical foundations of Educational Psychology, as well as on its potential applications, with particular emphasis on the psychological processes involved in education and learning throughout the life cycle and in the multiple life contexts. The breadth and transdisciplinarity of educational issues allow the articulation of knowledge in this domain with the knowledge from different areas and models of action in Psychology, providing the combination and transfer of knowledge between related curricular units. Additionally, Educational Psychology is a fundamental reference for the acquisition and understanding of knowledge in the field of School Psychology, contained in the "Applied Psychology II" curricular unit, and represents an essential foundation for a complete, comprehensive and diversified undergraduate training.
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Class from course
Class from course
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Degree | Semesters | ECTS
Degree | Semesters | ECTS
Bachelor | Semestral | 5
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Year | Nature | Language
Year | Nature | Language
3 | Mandatory | Português
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Code
Code
ULP608-7210
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Prerequisites and corequisites
Prerequisites and corequisites
Not applicable
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Professional Internship
Professional Internship
Não
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Syllabus
Syllabus
The syllabus is scaffolded in the following main contents: C1. Introduction to Educational Psychology (E.P.) 1.1 Conceptualising E.P. Scientific status, method and object of study Historical development 1.2 Conceptual and practical framework Conceptual paradigms and contexts of application C2. Central Topics in Educational Psychology (E.P.) 2.1 Learning: from the foundations of cognition to adaptive functioning Conceptual and empirical foundations Practical applications to the resolution of educational problems 2.2 Education in the Family Context Typologies, conceptual foundations and evidence-based paradigms 2.3 Literacy(ies): from reading to lifelong education Conceptual framework and individual and collective implications 2.4 Education, society and contemporaneity Digital transformation Education, globalisation and diversity Education in contexts of crisis and emergency
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Objectives
Objectives
The main learning outcomes of the curricular unit are: to acquire a comprehensive overview of the educational psychology field and to understand the specific nature of its epistemological status (LO1); to be acquainted with the main issues and applied contexts of Educational Psychology (LO2); to develop expertise to the analysis and comprehension of learning processes in different educational settings (LO3). The present course also aims to promote: the critical thinking and analysis of the scientific literature (LO4), the ability to autonomously search for and understand scientific knowledge (LO5), and the skills for transfer theoretical knowledge to the conceptualization of educational issues in broader Psychology domains (LO6).
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Teaching methodologies
Teaching methodologies
The teaching methodology "Problem-Based Learning" (PBL) has robust empirical validity, particularly in higher education settings. In this sense, the contents will start from the identification and in-depth characterization of a real educational problem to be solved in a small group. This resolution will be accompanied, on the one hand, by tutorial support for reflection, monitoring, and continuous evaluation, and, on the other hand, by explicit and participatory instruction for the acquisition and deepening of knowledge. The group problem resolution should be complemented by independent work, taking into account the complexity and extension of the task, as well as the learning objectives. The evaluation of the various work components will be detailed in the "Evaluation - Instruments and Evaluation Parameters" section.
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References
References
Alexander, P. (Ed.) (2021). Contemporary Educational Psychology. ISSN: 0361-476X Cline, T., Gulliford, A., & Birch, S. (2023). Educational Psychology, Routledge. Kendeou, P. (Ed.) (2026). Journal of Educational Psychology. eISSN: 1939-2176 Kirschner, P. A., & Hendrick, C. (2020). How learning happens:Seminal works in educational psychology and what they mean in practice. Routledge Tartas, V., Mirza, N. M., Garrido, C. M. R., & (Ed.s) (2026). European Journal of Psychology of Education. eISSN: 1878-5174. URL: https://www.springer.com/journal/10212 Paas, F. (Ed.). (2026). Educational Psychology Review. ISSN: 1040-726X. eISSN: 1573-336X. URL: https://link.springer.com/journal/10648 Mok, M. M. C. (Ed.) (2026). Educational Psychology: An international journal of experimental educational psychology. eISSN: 1469-5820. URL: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/edu Shutz, P. A., & Muis, K. R. (2023) (Ed.). Handbook of Educational Psychology, 4th ed. Routledge
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Assessment
Assessment
A avaliação contínua obdecerá a um conjunto de tarefas, etapas e parâmetros adequados à metodologia de ensino e aprendizagem baseada na resolução de problemas. As tarefas e elementos de avaliação sujeitos a submissão serão atempadamente calendarizados e explicitados na página moodle da unidade curricular. Os principais elementos a considerar serão: a) a realização de tarefas regulares orientadas para a aplicação de conhecimentos e/ou para a resolução do problema-alvo (individualmente e em grupo); b) a apresentações dos progressos e apresentação de uma resolução final do problema em análise (em grupo); e c) uma prova escrita escrita individual. Os parâmetros de avaliação, respectivamente considerados, incluirão: 1) a qualidade e fundamentação científica da resolução proposta, apresentada oralmente e em grupo (25% da classificação final); 2) o desempenho individual nas tarefas regulares e apresentações orais (25%) e 3) a demonstração dos conhecimentos e competências adquiridos através de uma prova escrita individual (50%). A assiduidade é obrigatória nos moldes do Regulamento Geral de Avaliação. Estudantes com estatuto especial (e.g., "trabalhores-estudantes" ou outros), impedidos de cumprir os requisitos de participação em 70% das tarefas grupais, poderão realizar a avaliação contínua individualmente. A avaliação em qualquer época de exame incidirá na resolução de problemas enquadrados nos conteúdos da UC.
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Mobility
Mobility
Yes
