What is the evidence of the lack of support for educational psychology? First, some textbooks are redefining educational psychology leaving the psychology out. For example, the last edition of educational psychology authored by Eggen and Kalchak defined educational psychology as an academic discipline with a focus on teaching and learning. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong, but this definition can be used to define the sociology of education or the philosophy of education and any discipline that focus on education. The conflict surfaced for me while teaching an ed psych course, which I nearly do now from memory and providing my students with a definition that did not match the one in their textbook. When a few students wrote the textbook definition on their quiz, the conflict gained substance because I had to convince my students that a definition of educational psychology that leaves psychology out is not an appropriate definition. Second schools and universities are removing the title of educational psychology from the departments and courses. Such as labeling a course “learning theories,” but actually covering all the topics of an introduction to educational psychology course is a good example of the obvious exclusion of educational psychology.
