Psychology and the Education of Persons in British Columbia - A Critical Interpretive Investigation

Oct 15, 2026

Psychological theory and research often treat the self as highly individualistic and instrumental, which in educational settings can prioritize self-fulfilment and personal freedom over citizenship and civic virtue. The investigation traces a critical history of self-studies in psychology applied to education and analyzes how these conceptions shape elementary school curricula in British Columbia. It argues that autonomy and self-governance are celebrated at the expense of socially dependent, committed citizenship.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Psychology, self-conceptions, and education

Critical history of self-studies in psychology

Influence on British Columbia elementary curricula

Critical hermeneutic framework

Psychology and the Education of Persons in British Columbia: A Critical Interpretive Investigation Ann-MarieMcLellan Jack Martin Psychological theory and research assume conceptions of the self that are highly individualistic and instrumental. When incorporated into educational theory and practice, such conceptions serve to elevate goals and strategies of self-fulfilment and individual freedom over goals and practices that emphasize citizenship and civic virtue. We present a brief, critical history of self studies in psychology as applied to education, as well as an example of the influence of psychological conceptions of the self on elementary school curricula in British Columbia. We conclude that the autonomous, self-governing individual is celebrated at the expense of the socially dependent, committed citizen. Keywords: self conceptions, psychological theory, school curricula Certaines théories et des courants de recherche en psychologie postulent l􀂒existence d􀂒images de soi très individualistes et instrumentales. Intégrées dans la théorie et lapratique en éducation, de telles images ont pour effet de placer les buts et les stratégies de l􀂒actualisation de soi et la liberté personnelle au-dessus des buts et des pratiques qui mettent l􀂒accent sur la citoyenneté et le civisme. Les auteurs présentent une courte histoire critique des auto-observations en psychologie dans leur application à l􀂒éducation. En étudiant l􀂒influence des conceptions de soi sur les programmes duprimaire en Colombie-Britannique, ils ont trouvé que les programmes privilégiaientle sujet autonome aux dépens du citoyen engagé et socialement engagé . Mots clés: images de soi, théorie psychologique, curriculums scolaires 􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖􀂖 Whereas disciplinary psychology is committed to the study of individuals, formal education is dedicated to the preparation of persons as productive citizens. Psychology does not share directly in the societal mandate of education to produce certain kinds of citizens capable of contributing to the common good. Nonetheless, education has been of considerable interest to psychologists from the time of William James (1901) . A summary of proceedings from the inaugural Education Leadership Conference CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 28, 1 & 2 (2005): 73􀂖91 convened by the American Psychological Association in October 2001 (Belar, Nelson, & Wasik, 2003) reflects the extent of this interest: 􀂓Psychology as a discipline is important to teacher education; knowledge of learning, development, and behavior is essential for effective classroom teaching􀂔 (p. 681) . At first blush, it seems reasonable that psychological investigations might guide educational policy about the development and understanding of individual competence. However, the education of persons and psychology􀂒s impact on education go well beyond a concern for individual achievement. Recent critical scholarship has illuminated the significant role that psychology has played in the construction and social administration of persons in Western cultures, and how psychology has constructed and managed personhood in ways amenable to current liberal notions of freedom, equality, and self-governance (e.g., Danziger, 1990, 1997; Rose, 1998) . For example, Popkewitz (2000) contends that since the nineteenth century, the governing of the individual in Western societies has been carried out through 􀂓the social sciences,[which] were to organize the thinking, feeling, hoping, and 􀂑knowing􀂒 capacities of the productive citizen􀂔 (p. 19) . In the early twentieth century, the shaping of the citizen was related to external morals and obligations, whereas today it is related to 􀂓a set of practices through which the self works on the self􀂔 (Popkewitz, 2001, p. 4) . These and other critical studies (e.g., Herman, 2001; Martin, in press; Rose, 1999) have examined the interrelationships among society, psychology, and the development and education of persons. Given these relati

FAQs

How do self-conceptions in psychology affect educational goals and practice?

They can elevate self-fulfilment strategies and personal freedom above goals and practices emphasizing citizenship and civic virtue.

What is the document’s main focus regarding British Columbia education?

It examines how psychological conceptions of the self have influenced elementary school curricula and shaped understandings of educated persons.

What does the critical hermeneutic framework change about how psychology is studied in this context?

It situates disciplinary and professional psychology, its objects, and methods within sociocultural and historical contexts rather than treating knowledge as value-free and isolated from society.

Oct 15, 2026

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