ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an account of scientism and some practical guidance on how to avoid scientism in educational neuroscience and psychology. The greatest problem facing educational neuroscience and psychology is crossing the bridge between theory and practice: how to move from scientific theories and evidence to their practical application in education. Crossing this bridge too hastily leaves educational neuroscience and psychology open to the accusation of ‘scientism’: excessive belief in the power or value of science. Failure to acknowledge them puts educational neuroscience at risk of becoming educational neuroscientism. The uncontroversial view that neuroscience can improve education does not entail that without attention to neuroscience, education is in some way deficient. The latter would follow from the former if educational neuroscience were shown to improve education to a highly significant degree.
