TEDU Department of Psychology Educational Objectives
TEDU Department of Psychology provides education in line with the dynamic and interdisciplinary approach of today's psychology, with the basic mission of continuously improving the learning and practice opportunities offered to its students. The science of psychology has undergone a significant change in the last 50 years and has emerged as a complex discipline characterised by the diversity of its subfields and specialisations. The science of psychology overlaps with many disciplines from biological sciences to social sciences and has a unifying and interdisciplinary characteristic. As TEDU Department of Psychology, our most important mission is to develop our educational infrastructure and the opportunities we offer to students in line with this contemporary perspective that psychology is an integrative and "central science at the intersection of sciences" (hub science; Boyack, Klavans ve Borner, 2005; Cacioppo, 2007).
The Psychology Undergraduate Programme does not aim to provide expertise in any subfield of psychology. TEDU Psychology Undergraduate Programme graduates students with a functional knowledge of the field, an advanced understanding of the main subfields of psychology, psychological literacy, a strong scientific and research background, and basic practical skills that can be used in a wide variety of work environments. These outcomes prepare students to work competently in a wide variety of work environments or to pursue graduate studies in any field of psychology or related fields.
Within the framework of the universal and local standards detailed below, the aim of TEDU Psychology Undergraduate Programme is to enable students to define the basic concepts and principles of psychology and its overarching themes and applications, to have basic knowledge of different fields of psychology, to explain psychological phenomena with scientific reasoning, to think creatively/innovatively and integratively, to design, conduct and interpret a psychological research at a basic level, to take into account social and cultural factors in their scientific inquiries, to be sensitive to ethical standards in psychological research and practices, to establish and develop interpersonal relationships, to internalise values that serve the structuring of society and the development of relations in local, national and global terms; take into account social and cultural factors in their scientific inquiries, be sensitive to ethical standards in psychological research and practices, establish and develop interpersonal relationships, internalise values that serve the structuring of society and the development of relationships locally, nationally and globally, gain self-efficacy and self-regulation skills, develop teamwork capacity, apply psychological content and skills to career goals, make a career plan for after graduation, use information technologies and be open to lifelong learning. In addition, it is one of the main objectives of our programme to produce qualified projects and researches, to share the results in appropriate scientific channels and to disseminate them to the society.
The aim of the first year of study in the psychology undergraduate programme is to provide the student with a general science formation. The programme consists of 13 credits of compulsory and 19 credits of elective courses in areas such as Mathematics, English, Social and Natural Sciences. The common courses taken in the first year provide students with a solid foundation in scientific understanding, basic science and basic academic skills. In addition, a general psychology course is also taken in the first year. In the second year of study, the aim is to begin to provide the student with psychological formation and in this direction, the basic sub-field knowledge of psychology, methodology and statistics are given. In the third year of education, psychology formation is developed by giving field courses that include knowledge and skills related to the basic theories of psychology (personality, developmental theories, etc.) and theoretical approaches to practice (test and evaluation theories, etc.). In the fourth year of education, the student who has completed the basic formation is aimed to develop his/her knowledge and skills by choosing theoretical and applied courses from different fields of psychology in line with his/her interest and to apply his/her knowledge and skills by preparing a graduation project.
It is a four-year, eight-semester programme with a total of no more than 2/3 of the credits required for graduation, with a ratio of elective courses of approximately 50%, allowing students to choose a second field (minor) from other departments (science/social/education), open to interdisciplinary cooperation, flexible and with options. According to the curriculum, from the second year onwards, students are offered compulsory field, methods and statistics courses, as well as many elective courses and the opportunity to concentrate on some areas of psychology such as cognitive, developmental, social, industrial/organisational and clinical. In addition, as an application of the liberal education philosophy, students can choose a secondary field programme offered by other departments (e.g., Sociology, Political Science, etc.) or a hybrid/transdisciplinary programme (e.g., Communication, World Citizenship) offered by the Basic Sciences Unit and have the opportunity to develop themselves according to their interests without increasing their credit load during the four-year education period.
In summary, the educational objectives of the programme are listed below:
1. To educate graduates with a strong knowledge base on the basic concepts, theories and approaches of psychology and its various sub-fields.
2. To educate graduates who can look at events and problems with psychological literacy; who have developed scientific inquiry and critical thinking skills, and who have an interdisciplinary perspective.
3. To prepare students for career opportunities both in the academic field and in the field of practice by providing a solid knowledge of scientific method and statistics and basic application skills.
4. To educate graduates who adopt ethical principles and social responsibility in professional and personal life; who value individual and group differences and diversity such as age, gender, ethnic identity, disability, etc. and who show human rights-based sensitivity to them.
5. To train graduates who can apply communication skills in scientific and professional fields.
6. To educate individuals who have gained the habit of self-learning, individual and group work and production.
7. To educate graduates who take responsibility for their personal and professional development, use the equipment they have for professional development and adopt a lifelong learning approach.
Universal and Local Standards Used in Determining Educational Objectives
The educational objectives of the undergraduate programme of the Department of Psychology at TEDU have been determined within the framework of the universal and local standards outlined below:
Developments in the science and education of psychology In the 2003-2023 Social Sciences Foresight Study report of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) (2007), it is defined as follows how undergraduate psychology education should be: "Psychology education should have a competitive, contemporary, ethical, contemporary, ethical sensitivity, as well as a localised scope that is compatible and reconcilable with the social fabric and cultural dynamics" (p. 133).
In the world, the standards of the American Psychological Association (APA) and, especially in Europe, the standards of the European Federation of Psychological Associations (EFPA) are widely used in psychology education. Although these two models differ in terms of the duration of education, they are quite parallel in terms of the knowledge and skills aimed to be acquired within a certain period of education. APA has designed psychology undergraduate education to train a basic scientist-practitioner. Within the framework of the "liberal arts and science" approach, the aims of the four-year undergraduate education were revised in 2013 and generally set out as follows (APA, 2013):
1. Basic scientific knowledge in psychology
2. Scientific enquiry and critical thinking
3. Ethical values and social responsibilities in an increasingly diverse world
4. Communication skills
5. Professional development
Since EFPA is an organisation of professional associations, it proposes an education model that covers undergraduate and postgraduate education and gradually combines undergraduate education with practice and professional definition (3+2 years of education plus 1 year of practice under supervision). The aim is to establish standards for the training and work of psychologists in Europe and to implement a European Certificate in Psychology (EuroPsy) system to ensure both the provision of quality services throughout the EU and the free movement of psychologists in all EU countries. This training model also emphasises the following for the 3-year basic training: "A basic training in all specialisations of psychology and the major theories and techniques in psychology, a basic introduction to the skills of psychologists and a background for research in psychology. This training does not lead to a professional qualification in psychology or the competence needed to work independently as a psychologist. The programme of the second stage prepares the student to become an independently working psychologist. This part of the curriculum prepares the student for doctoral training or for employment as a practitioner in a specific (or general) area of psychology (Regulation on the European Certificate in Psychology).
Without considering the loss of what is important and necessary for psychology education in both educational models discussed here, a working group consisting of academics under the umbrella of TPD determined the standards for the psychology undergraduate education program in Turkey in 2008 by the "TPD Accreditation Regulation". Accordingly, the purpose of psychology undergraduate education is determined as follows:
1. Basic knowledge of psychology concepts, theories and approaches
2. Basic knowledge of applications to different fields of psychology
3. Basic knowledge of research methods and statistics
4. Basic equipment that provides scientific method and perspective
5. Ethical principles and values