Educational Psychology

The Educational Psychology program focuses on the study of cognitive, emotional and social – cultural processes that are fundamental to education and lifelong human development. The program is addressed to current or potential teachers of primary and secondary education who wish to acquire specialized knowledge of the normal and abnormal pattern of development and learning.

The basic philosophy of the program is the empirical approach to the study of Educational Psychology, where the acquired knowledge and expertise are combined with the students’ experience with everyday problems within and outside the school environment. This approach will help students expand their knowledge, and at the same time acquire a deeper understanding of various topics in education and psychology. Specifically, the students of this Graduate Programme will be trained in depth in the following areas:

• Theoretical approaches to learning and their educational applications.
• Learning difficulties, especially in the developmental stages of preschool, school and adolescence, with the aim of their adhoc handling or their reference to appropriately trained therapists.
• The psychological development field with emphasis on pre-school, school and adolescence and its interaction with learning processes.
• The main developmental disorders such as those occurring in childhood and adolescence and their impact on learning outcomes.
• Gender identities and their connection to the school context.
• Awareness of the roles of the cultural and social aspects as part of the educational interaction with students and parents.
• Educational research methods and techniques

The Programme is addressed to:

• Graduates of Pedagogy / Education or similar disciplines who are already working or looking for work in the public or private sector, across the spectrum of typical and atypical education
• Graduates of Psychology who wish to pursue a research or academic career in Educational Psychology
• Managers and employees in public or private schools or training institutions, who are interested in further strengthening and specialization of their knowledge in the field of educational psychology
• Graduates of other disciplines (university and/or technological institutions) who wish to broaden their knowledge and skills in an applied field of psychology, whose applications can also be extended to other areas apart from education.

TEACHING METHOD

This is a distance learning Programme. For each subject there will be one (1) training workshop in person lasting three hours and four to six (4-6) skype-meetings with the instructor lasting two hours each. During this period the student should study the educational material following its specific timetable. Each module requires about 14 hours of study per week. Also, in some courses the student should prepare a large-scale written assignment or more small-scale assignments, depending on the nature of the course. At the end of the semester students will participate in written exams at Neapolis University in Pafos, or at local partner examination centers in Cyprus and Greece. The student must be awarded a minimum grade of 50/100 in the final examination and the assignment in order to successfully complete the course. In case of failure the student can be re-examined in the examination period of the next semester. The final grade for each module will be the weighted average of the final (or iterative) written test score and the average of the written assignment(s), based on the weights outlined in the course syllabus.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROGRAM

• Adaptation of the program to the needs of the school environment and education in general.
• The international prestige and recognition of Neapolis University Paphos.
• Experienced academic staff.
• The international collaborations of the University and its links with the market.
• The flexibility of distance learning and the use of modern technology.
• The students’ choice of preference between synchronous and asynchronous remote education.
• The competitive fees.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

To be awarded the Master’s degree, students should successfully complete all the modules. The modules are listed in the following table.