Personal construct psychology in education and learning

Abstract

Recently educational technology has undergone a change of emphasis in the methods and means of teaching: from mass instruction through individualized instruction to group learning. This re-orientation parallels developments within education itself of the three stages of dependent, independent and interdependent learning. This paper discusses the contribution which can be made to this development by personal construct psychology, and in particular the practical role in it of the PEGASUS and SOCIO-GRIDS programs for construct elicitation and analysis. IntroductionIn recent years there has been increasing discontentment with the models of learning upon which education and training are based. Much of the emphasis in this paper is on education in schools and colleges, but it is suggested that the issues raised are equally relevant to education and training in the wider sense, at work and at play. Hayes (1978) suggests a closer alignment of education, training and work, and indicates that "learning-to-learn" is as important a concept for industry and commerce as it is becoming within schools and colleges. There is growing recognition within industry of the need for establishing the personal strategies used and the values held by the learner in relation to any particular learning task. New techniques are evolving which encourage the individual learner to confront these aspects and to take an active and responsible part in the learning process. Each of us has an implicit model of the learning process which will have an impact on our behaviour as learner or teacher/trainer.The theories underlying the practice of educational research are also intimately linked to general educational ideologies. These educational ideologies embody theories of the nature and development of man. As Bruner (1966) pointed out--instruction can be seen as an effort to assist or to shape growth and that any theory of instruction is in effect a theory of how growth and development are encouraged. Any theory about teaching is thus inextricably linked to an underlying view or model of the nature of the learner. A teacher/trainer may conceive of the nature of the learner as active or passive, or meaning seeking, or impulse driven, fixed or constantly developing. Whichever model is adopted will influence that teacher's teaching strategy and objectives.Much of the current debate on education revolves round fundamental differences in the models of learning held by the individuals concerned. that a major problem is that at any point in time educational issues tend to be dominated by one particular viewpoint or "frame of reference" so that education becomes monolithic in structure (Joyce, 1972). Those involved in education often adopt rigidly opposing positions which mitigate against a more constructive and flexible approach.There is now a growing recognition that alternative.models can co-exist and enrich rather than detract from development in education. Some educational researchers are seeking new approaches--recognizing that past educational research...

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