While there’s a spectrum of overlapping interests between Educational Psychology and School Psychology, these are two distinct fields in terms of the primary career paths and training focus.
Educational Psychology is the study of human learning (this includes development, learning, motivation, assessment, and instruction) in both formal and informal learning contexts. The primary purpose of an Educational Psychology program is to prepare students for careers in teaching and research at institutions of higher learning or research consortiums.
By contrast, School Psychology is a practitioner-based field and therefore the program includes practicum and internship components in order to prepare students for careers as School Psychologists.
Educational Psychologists do not have clinical duties but often contribute to preservice teacher training programs by teaching classes related to psychological theories of learning, classroom assessment, and developmental psychology courses.
A few examples of the differences between Educational Psychology and School Psychology are as follows (again, remember that the interests and application of these disciplines is often at the discretion of the scholar):
| Educational Psychology | School Psychology | |
| Training | Mainly for research | Research and clinical training (requires practicum and internship) |
| Potential Jobs | Researchers, professors | School psychologists, professors, clinical psychologists (with additional experiences and appropriate license) |
| Area of Research | Learning, motivation, assessment, development, individual differences, instruction | Similar. Emphasis on testing, consultation, and intervention |
| Target Population and Setting of Research/Practice | All ages, both inside and outside of traditional school settings | Tends to be school-aged children within traditional school settings |
| License | Typically N/A. But there are some educational psychology programs, which include the coursework or fieldwork necessary for credentialing as a school psychologist. Some states may also offer licensure, such as California. | Usually state-certified to deliver services to students through a school system. Duties can include administering IQ tests and other assessments, as well as counseling and planning interventions. |
A few examples of professional goals common for an educational psychology specialization:
- A university teaching position, teaching human development, learning, motivation, instructional psychology, and other educational psychology courses (leadership, creativity, etc.).
- A position within a university, supervising instructional and faculty development and evaluation, and conducting institutional research.
- A position doing research, evaluation, and staff development for a university, research institute, or school district.
- A position designing training programs and conducting training research in a business, government or non-profit institutional setting.
- A position doing general administration for a university or vocational training center.
- A position in human resources development, in business, government, or non-profit institutional setting.
- Develop a private consulting business that works with a variety of individuals and/or organizations challenges and issues related to human learning and development.
Content developed by the 2016-2017 Division 15 Membership Committee.