ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the way psychology has influenced debates on the curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment and evaluation. It considers the influence of psychology on the curriculum and teaching and how the theories of Piaget and Skinner are introduced to teachers by curriculum commentators. The chapter focuses on the impact in education of two psychologists, Piaget and Skinner, whose developmental and behavioural theories respectively, are frequently invoked in the curriculum literature. It looks at the educational practice the theories have inspired, which will be discussed in the light of the National Curriculum. Behavioural and developmental psychology have frequently been at the centre of educational debates concerning the nature of teaching and learning. Interpretations of behavioural psychology can be sharply contrasted with altogether more inspiring descriptions of child-centred education. Language exerts a powerful role in sustaining images of behavioural and developmental psychology.
