Ed Psych Share Space

One of the most common questions I get from people who are interested in applying for or are about to start on the Educational and Child Psychology Doctorate is…What should I read? When I applied, I tried to read everything and soon got overwhelmed and much poorer buying lots of books and journals. Starting out with no reference point can be daunting and overwhelming so hopefully this blog should give you a few ideas if you are an aspiring TEP, current TEP or qualified EP.

(Just a quick disclaimer that try as I might, I haven’t had a chance to read all of the recommendations below and some have come from TEP friends who have read them!)

I should start off by saying, you should and can read lots of different things and I generally recommend people read about what they are interested in. There is no ‘reading list’ to becoming an EP, and there is no requirement to read any of the books or journals below. My aim here was to compile a list of some books about EP practice I have encountered along my way that I’ve found useful or plan to read as a TEP.

For those considering applying for the doctorate who are not sure about what the role or process entails, if you’re looking for some free resources start here:

• Educational Psychology: This is an excellent free blog by EdPsy that outlines the role of an EP and the sorts of things they might do. You can also check out their blog section for lots of ideas about different kinds of EP practice, research and events going on.
• EdPsychEd Blog: Another great blog resource with lots of discussions and research findings around hot topics in EP practice written often by practicing EPs and TEPs.

If you’d like a short book overview of the EP role and training try this:

• How to Become An Educational Psychologist by Swinson & Stringer: This short book takes you through what an EP does, training requirements, experiences of trainee EP life and then into the life and career as an EP. I bought this prior to applying just to get an idea of what being an EP was all about and found it an easy to read overview.

If you’re writing a doctorate application and would like a refresh of psychological and educational theories, philosophies or approaches you could try these books:

• Understanding & Using Educational Theories by Aubrey and Riley : This book gives an overview of key concepts and applications of theoretical ideas from the likes of Dewey, Montessori, Piaget, Vygotsky, Skinner, Bloom, Bronfenbrenner, Kolb and many more. I personally found this really useful to key my brain back into different theoretical approaches in education as it had been 10 years since I had done my psychology undergraduate degree by the time I applied for the doctorate. I was able to think about my experiences while reading it to reflect how I had used and applied psychological theories.

• Learning Theories Simplified by Bates: This book again looks at different classical theories of learning as well as contemporary thinking on teaching, learning and planning, and delivering and assessing learning. Packed full of theories and frameworks it explains different educational philosophies such as Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Humanism, Neurolism as well as exploring frameworks around topics such as motivation, behaviour management, coaching and much more. I found this useful to reflect on what my educational philosophies were and how this looked in my practice.

Just a note to say, a recently qualified EP on BlueSky shared with me that she had used Understanding and Using Educational Theories to support her in developing training for staff in school so also worth checking out for TEPs and EPs too!

If you do have journal access through a current course for example, why not see if you have access to any journals linked to EP practice that you can read.

As an Assistant EP, I asked one of the qualified EPs if I could borrow some of her old issues of EPiP she received with her membership to the AEP and I used these to get a feel for different topics that were current in EP practice. Obviously there are LOTS of journals on a whole range of topics out there but the journals I looked at prior to application were:

• Educational Psychology in Practice (EPiP) : This is the quarterly journal that also comes with being an AEP member. As an Assistant EP you can join the AEP and recieve EPiP as a hard copy in the post.
• Educational & Child Psychology (ECP) : Access to this quarterly journal comes with a DECP BPS membership which as a TEP or recently qualified graduate you can access at a discounted rate. I think you can purchase a few one off journals if you’re not a member if there’s anything that interests you that you can’t access too.
• DECP Debate: Also accessible through a BPS DECP membership as with the ECP.

Something else that baffled me before I applied for the doctorate was…what do EPs actually do when they ‘work with young people’ and what does that actually look like in terms of a structure? Lots of EP services and the DECP do put on ‘Find out about becoming an EP’ events online so its worth keeping your eyes out for them but there are also some useful books you can get to get a more in-depth feel.

If you’re looking to explore what casework in EP practice might look like:

• Educational Psychology Casework: A Practice Guide by Beaver: This was one of the first books I read when looking at becoming a TEP and coming back to it now I think I need a re-read as its packed with great ideas! This books aims to present a framework for EP casework practice and explores the role of the EP, measuring impact of EP services, rapport skills, problems and solutions, hypothesising and information gathering, as well as the role of beliefs, values and identity and exploring models of the world. It also contains some case examples which give non-EPs a useful insight into how casework might look in real life. I particularly enjoyed the personal construct psychology aspects of this book (more on this in future blogs!)

If you’re looking for a deeper read, the following books have been popping up on my recommended list to read as a TEP: (Disclaimer, as a new(ish)TEP I haven’t got my head into all of these yet but I intend to soon):

• Frameworks for Practice in Educational Psychology by Kelly, Woolfson & Boyle. Fondly known as the ‘The Red Book’ I did purchase this prior to training and found it quite hard to get my head around before I was a TEP. As a TEP however, I now see why it is so widely recommended. The breakdown of different frameworks for practice that you might cover in university input has been really helpful when doing my assignments and when exploring a range of ways in which to systematically approach casework. It covers approaches such as the Monsen Problem Solving framework, COMOIRA, Solution Oriented approaches, Activity Theory, Positive Psychology and the Woolfsen framework along with others.

• Educational Psychology by Cline, Gulliford and Birch : This one is on my ‘to read list’ so I can’t give a full review just yet but I have heard good things! Having a peruse of the contents pages, it covers topics such as what EPs do, evidence informed practice in educational psychology and discussions around topics in cognition and learning (including dyslexia, communication, autism and mathematics) as well as social emotional mental health issues in schools (including the EP role, classroom behaviour and school non-attendance) and much more.

• Critical Educational Psychology by Williams, Billington, Goodley and Corcoran: Again another on my to read list that I’ve heard great things about. According to the blurb, this book focuses on using critical perspectives to challenge current ways of thinking and improve practice. The book uses a broad range of theoretical resources from outside mainstream psychology to examine issues at the forefront of educational psychology. It covers topics such as the role of education, the relationship between teaching and learning, the impact of gender, faith and ethics in educational settings, the construction of rich learning environments, notions of normalcy, difference and disability and draws from a range of theoretical standpoints.

I hope this blog has been useful for those asking ‘What should I read?’ These are just my experiences and recommendations I’ve heard from friends. If you’re on a budget, then I do also recommend you check out your university library, Ebay and World of Books. I’d also recommend you keep an eye out on the Educational Psychology UK Doctoral Applicants Facebook group as there are often TEPs and EPs selling off old books and you might be able to grab a second hand bargain.

If you have read any of these books and would like to share how you’ve used them or if you have any other recommended reads please do let me know in the comments, I love hearing from you!