National and international organizations related to the teaching of psychology
United States of America
Society for the Teaching of Psychology (within American Psychological Association -APA)
The Society for the Teaching of Psychology advances understanding of the discipline by promoting excellence in the teaching and learning of psychology. The Society provides resources and services, access to a collaborative community, and opportunities for professional development. The Society also strives to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning, advocate for the needs of teachers of psychology, foster partnerships across academic settings, and increase recognition of the value of the teaching profession.
Provides information for teachers and students of psychology on accreditation, continuing professional education, scholarships, grants, and funding.
APA Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology
The Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology (OTRP) develops and distributes teaching and advising materials and provides services to teachers of psychology at all levels on behalf of The Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS)
TOPSS promotes the scientific nature of high school psychology and meets the curricular and professional needs of high school psychology teachers.
United Kingdom
Division for Teachers and Researchers in Psychology (DTRP)
The DTRP is a Division within the British Psychological Society designed to further the interests of individuals following careers in teaching and/or researching Psychology. The Division was set up in 1997 and provides benefits for both members and non members. It aims to be the professional home for any psychologist whose principal activities are in research, teaching, or a combination of both. It was formed to address the professional issues which concern that significant proportion of the Society's membership who do not offer direct psychological services to client groups, but undertake academic duties in schools, colleges, universities, and research establishments (or are undergoing training to equip themselves for careers in these settings), and through their work provide and disseminate essential elements of the knowledge base for a range of professions.
Association of Heads of Psychology Departments
Aim of the AHPD. The aim of the Association of Heads of Psychology Departments is to exchange information by meetings and other means, to propose and initiate actions on issues of common interest, particularly those affecting teaching, training, research and administration in academic Departments of Psychology, and also to enhance the standing of the discipline of Psychology.
The Association for the Teaching of Psychology
The ATP is a voluntary body run by psychology teachers for psychology teachers. It has an annually-elected committee and provides a variety of services for members, including a telephone help-line, help via email, ethics advice for practicals and coursework, a magazine, journals, and economically priced one-day and weekend courses for teachers new to Psychology.
The Higher Education Academy Psychology Network
Higher Education Academy Psychology Network supports the teaching and learning of psychology across the UK. They promote excellence in the learning, teaching and assessment of Psychology across the full range of curricula and activities relevant to UK Higher Education A core team, based at the University of York, with a partner site at the University of Abertay, works with staff, departments, professional bodies and overseas organisations to develop supportive networks and to improve the learning experience of psychology students in Higher Education.
They aim to:
- monitor policy development and keep departments informed about changes that impact on the teaching and learning of psychology;
- inform staff about innovations in teaching, suggest good practice and provide resource lists;
- build communities of practice by brokering networks to support the sharing of practice and to stimulate developments in academic practice;
- encourage research into teaching practice and the learning experience and to provide opportunities for publication;
- support departmental developments in relation to teaching and learning.
Canada
Section on the Teaching of Psychology (within Canadian Psychological Association - CPA)
Teaching of Psychology (ToP) became a full-fledged Section of Canadian Psychological Association in 1980, with Constitution and By-Laws formally approved by CPA's Board of Directors in 1991. ToP was the natural child of the Interest Group in the Teaching of Psychology (IGTP), which had been formed at Convention '75 in Quebec City. According to the IGTP News (Fall/Winter 1975-76), "IGTP [was] the successor to CIIG, the College Instructors Interest Group, which ... met annually in conjunction with the Canadian Psychological Association ... since the 1972 meetings in Montreal."
The general aim of the Section on the Teaching of Psychology is to provide a forum for the exchange of information, ideas and data concerning all aspects of teaching, including methods and styles of teaching, innovative pedagogical techniques, and aspects of student behaviour and evaluation. To this end, each year at CPA the Section offers a teaching-related symposium, paper session or workshop, the ongoing general theme of which has been since 1989, "Improving the teaching of psychology."
Australia
Australian Psychology Educators Network (APEN)
Since 2007, APEN is also the Teaching, Learning & Psychology Interest Group (TLaPIG) of the Australian Psychological Society. The group aims to build upon the knowledge and networks established by a series of recent initiatives supported by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), and its predecessor, the Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC).
TLaPIG/APEN aims:
- To facilitate communication, exchange, and the development of communities of practice among stakeholders in teaching and learning in psychology.
- To promote and recognise excellence in the teaching of psychology.
- To enhance the learning experiences of students of psychology.
- To enable the dissemination of knowledge, resources and innovative approaches to learning and teaching in psychology.
- To promote and support scholarly investigation and the evidenced-based development of psychology teaching and learning; and provide forums for the presentation of reports on investigations and developments.
- To provide advice to the APS, secondary and tertiary education institutions, government organisations, and other groups on relevant issues, including changes that impact on teaching and learning in psychology.
Brazilia
The Brazilian Association of Psychology Education (ABEP) was established in 1999. Its objectives include: the development of the teaching of psychology, coordinating information and gathering data about the work market, identifying applications of psychology that can contribute to the solution of national issues, and disseminating necessary information for the improvement of undergraduate programs in psychology. The association works to raise funds and manage financial resources for the teaching of psychology and promotes the qualification and continuous education of psychology teachers. ABEP includes programs that promote the exchange of experiences among teachers and students in all the 26 states of Brazil. They make efforts to support the 33 offices of the association in the various regions of the country and exchange knowledge and information, both online and during face to face meetings. ABEP members are psychologists, students and teachers of psychology, as well as other institutional members such as regional councils and universities. Such a diverse body of members brings to the association a particular dynamic: the debates and directions of the teaching of psychology are built from the perspective and interest of the different segments, keeping the focus on strengthening the teaching and the quality of education. The main activities developed by the association are scientific meetings, debates focused on teaching and education, studies and research meetings, production of bibliographic and audiovisual material about themes in psychology. ABEP belongs to the National Forum for Psychology Associations (FENPB) which currently brings together 20 associations. This forum is the place where ABEP establishes most of its partnerships to consolidate actions of interest to psychology. With similar objectives, ABEP belongs to the Latin American Union of Psychology (ULAPSI), which is committed to the construction of a Latin American Psychology.
Ireland
Division of Teachers and Researchers in Psychology (within the Psychological Society of Ireland).
Division of Teachers and Researchers in Psychology is the Division within the Psychological Society of Ireland. Aims of division are:
- To promote best practice in teaching and research in psychology by providing a forum for the sharing of knowledge and expertise among psychologists working in research and/or teaching fields.
- To contribute to continuing professional development for psychology teachers and researchers.
- To promote and encourage scientific research as it applies to teaching and learning within psychology and to promote the use of scientific methods in psychological research.
- To provide a forum for the discussion and dissemination of research findings in the areas of psychology teaching and research.
- To raise the profile of the role of the teacher and/or researcher in psychology among organisations and individuals and to promote a better understanding of their role and work.
- To promote and maintain high ethical and professional standards among teachers and researchers in psychology.
- To liaise with relevant bodies, both national and international, in the development and promotion of the goals of the Division.
International associations interested in the issues of psychology teaching
International Union for Psychological Science
The overarching purpose of the IUPsyS is to advance psychology nationally, regionally, and internationally. The overarching principle that guides the IUPsyS in fulfilling its mission is to meet the specific developmental and policy needs of its national constituents and their psychologist representatives. Among its numerous goals is the attainment of excellence in standards for education and training in the practice of scientific and applied psychology.
IUPsyS has proposed to develop or solidify disciplinary standards and guidelines for the education and training of psychologists and for the design of appropriate curricula and effective pedagogies. The 2008 strategic plan calls for the establishment of a web-based global resource portal that will archive international documents, the content of which will comprise information and materials on statutory and other regulatory standards as well as the general state of education and training in psychological science and practice.
The IUPsyS inaugurated the Work Group on Education for Psychologists, whose focus is to develop international standards for education. The ultimate goal of the Work Group is to design and garner support for a world diploma in psychology, analogous to the EuroPsy, but global in scope. Another IUPsyS Work Group on Psychological Science Informing Educational Practice promotes science-informed approaches to instructional methods in psychology and fosters learning in psychology.
European Federation of Psychologists' Associations (EFPA)
Since 1990s EFPA had several initiatives in psychology teaching and training. Recent years EFPA initiated EuroPsy as a European standard of education and training which enables individual psychologists to be recognised as having a European-level qualification in psychology. EuroPsy was mainly developed in order to set a quality benchmark of education and practice in psychology, and therefore to protect the public, and to improve mobility for psychologists between countries in Europe. EuroPsy embodies a set of standards of education and training for professional psychologists.
International Council of Psychologists
APA Committee on International Relations in Psychology
APA Committee on International Relations in Psychology holds useful resource for international teaching of psychology in terms of information and funding.
APA Division of International Psychology
There is Curriculum and Training Committee within this APADivision. A central goal of the Committee is to encourage and support internationalization of the psychology curriculum.
The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (ISSOTL)
Society serves faculty members, staff, and students who care about teaching and learning as serious intellectual work. The goal of the Society is to foster inquiry and disseminate findings about what improves and articulates post-secondary learning and teaching. ISSOTL is organized to
- Recognize and encourage scholarly work on teaching and learning in each discipline, within other scholarly societies, and across educational levels
- Promote cross-disciplinary conversation to create synergy and prompt new lines of inquiry
- Facilitate the collaboration of scholars in different countries and the flow of new findings and applications across national boundaries
- Encourage the integration of discovery, learning and public engagement
- Advocate for support, review, recognition, and appropriate uses of the scholarship of teaching and learning.