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Educational and Developmental Psychology: Towards a united profession

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 July 2019

Kelly-Ann Allen
Kelly-Ann Allen*
Affiliation:
Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists. Senior Lecturer, Educational Psychology and Inclusion, Faculty of Educational, Monash University Honorary Fellow, Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Melbourne University.

Abstract

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Type
Editorial
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , July 2019 , pp. 1 - 2
Copyright
© Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2019. 

Educational and developmental psychologists work across a range of settings and populations, and while their roles may vary from country to country there are several commonalities, particularly in their ability to produce and disseminate quality research (Jimerson, Annan, Skokut, & Renshaw, Reference Jimerson, Annan, Skokut and Renshaw2009; Topping & Lauchlan, Reference Topping and Lauchlan2013). While there may be no one overarching international definition of educational and developmental psychology, there is much to unite the profession, and this is an important driving force of the Educational and Developmental Psychologist.

The Profession’s Journal

The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, published biannually, is the peak journal for the profession of educational and developmental psychology in Australia. It attracts submissions from respected internationally renowned scholars (see Alloway & Copello, Reference Alloway and Copello2013; Dillenburger, et al., Reference Dillenburger, Röttgers, Dounavi, Sparkman, Keenan, Thyer and Nikopoulos2014; Lodge & Frydenberg, Reference Lodge and Frydenberg2007; Mansour, & Martin, Reference Mansour and Martin2009; Rigby, Reference Rigby1998; Riggs & Bartholomaeus, Reference Riggs and Bartholomaeus2015; Waters, Reference Waters2011). It also has a global standing within a world-wide community of practitioners and researchers, which is evidenced by the high number of international citations in other journals and literary work.

Over the last 12 months, there have been over 8,931 domestic and international institutions accessing the journal, with over 50,000 webpage views, and articles from the journal have been downloaded over 15,000 times. These statistics represent irrefutable evidence of strong engagement and broad accessibility for a global community of people connected to, and interested in, educational and developmental psychology. It is worth noting the importance of this remarkable accomplishment for a journal that has grown from humble beginnings as a limited distribution journal for members and friends of the Australian Psychological Society’s College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists.

A Vehicle for Knowledge

While the role of educational and developmental psychologists varies from person to person and country to country (Topping & Lauchlan, Reference Topping and Lauchlan2013), common key priorities connect rather than separate us. One key role of our field is to ensure we are disseminating the high-quality research which exists in the Australian and international domains, to the people who will ultimately benefit the most or use the work in a way that will extend, progress or inform future research and practice.

The Educational and Developmental Psychologist plays a key role in the diffusion of knowledge through the dissemination of pertinent and evidence-based research to its readers. The journal aims to remain relevant and contemporary to its broad audience and publish research that is practical, pertinent, and cohesive. This is clearly demonstrated in the current issue, Volume 36 - Issue 1 (See Andrews, Reference Andrews2019; Gilmore & Campbell, 2019; Loader, Brouwers, & Burke, Reference Loader, Brouwers and Burke2019; Ratnayake & Hyde, Reference Ratnayake and Hyde2019; Quin, Reference Quin2019). As Gilmore, Fletcher, and Hudson (Reference Gilmore, Fletcher and Hudson2013) suggest, a key feature of educational and developmental psychology lies within what distinguishes itself from other specialisations. It is because of this that the Educational and Developmental Psychologist retains a distinct and stand-alone existence within the landscape of journals that represent the field of psychology more broadly.

One major strength of the Educational and Developmental Psychologist is the stated objective to provide a bridge between research and practice, which is a unique quality afforded by a large readership comprised of both clinicians and academics. Peer-reviewed research is critical for practitioners to remain abreast of the current issues in educational and developmental psychology. At the same time, academics and researchers rely on journals as vehicles to not only disseminate their work, but to also advocate for relevant and necessary change to advance the status of practitioners and the field more generally. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist provides a platform for collaboration and the transfer of information and knowledge between academics and practitioners alike.

A final thought

The Educational and Developmental Psychologist requires continued support through readership, peer-review activity, research, and engagement through social media platforms, blogs, and podcasts, which are fast becoming a new wave of meaningful impact for the way empirical information is shared and used. The journal has flourished in recent years to represent a much larger international community of people interested in educational and developmental psychology and with ongoing support, the journal will continue to grow as a distinct and representative journal of educational and developmental psychology within Australia and abroad.

References

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