The Human Dimension in Education

Book excerpt: This is an educational psychology book that focuses on human development, the human being, teaching, and learning. It is appropriate for preservice teachers who are seeking to comprehend essential theories and concepts in educational psychology. It is also appropriate for practicing teachers who want to understand and apply these theories and concepts at increasingly higher levels. As well, it can be used by decision-makers or anybody else who wants to better understand human development, human beings, human learning, and educational processes. Besides the traditional topics related to human development and learning found in most educational psychology textbooks, this book describes topics that are typically not addressed. These topics include mental health for children and adolescents, intuition, an evolutionary perspective on emotions, poverty, disability and race, systemic racism, critical race theory, culturally responsive teaching, teacher reflection, language learning and reading instruction, and a complete discussion of teacher professionalism, dispositions, and attributes. These are topics that are worthy of our attention, and they will move you forward in your understanding of the human beings whom you teach.