educational psychology

American  

noun

1. a branch of psychology concerned with developing effective educational techniques and dealing with psychological problems in schools.

---

educational psychology British  

noun

1. the study of methods of training and teaching and their effectiveness, and of the problems experienced in learning formal material; in particular, the study of how to help people, esp school children, with learning problems to overcome their difficulties

---

Other Word Forms

• educational psychologist noun

Etymology

Origin of educational psychology

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Kindergarten readiness encompasses the foundational skills necessary to engage in a more formal learning environment, said Ohio State University educational psychology professor Laura Justice.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026

Cariaga, whose father was a lawyer, was doing clerical work for an insurance company while preparing to study educational psychology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

"We found that programs could benefit from using ideas from other fields, such as educational psychology, in which there would be a little more rigorous evaluation."

From Science Daily • May 6, 2024

As educational psychology researchers we look at ways to improve how students learn.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2024

The results of a recent experiment performed in the laboratory of educational psychology in the University of Missouri, will show what is meant.

From The Science of Human Nature A Psychology for Beginners by Pyle, William Henry