School environment refers to the environment in which the learner finds himself and in which the learning process takes place.
The contribution of psychology in school environment is as follows :
To understand individual differences : No two individuals are alike in the world. The teacher has to face a class of 30 to 50 students which have a great range of individual differences. The teacher with the help of the knowledge of the kind of individual differences may adjust his teaching to the needs and requirement of the class. This may be helpful in creating a conclusive environment.
To understand effective teaching methods : It gives us the knowledge of appropriate methods of teaching. It helps in developing new strategies of teaching- Valid psychological principles not only suggests new techniques of teaching- learning but also eliminates many traditional practices. Use of audio-visual aids makes the difficult concepts more clear and definite and learning is more lasting. It is the contribution of educational psychology that teacher make use of various types of audio-visual aids in class in class¬room teaching. Now subjects are included in the time table keeping in mind their difficulty level.
Curriculum construction : Psychological principles are also used in formulating curriculum for different stages. No two difficult subjects are taught in successive periods. Needs of the students, their development characteristics learning patterns and needs of the society are all incorporated in the curriculum.
Measurement of learning outcomes : Psychological tools help the teacher to assess the learning outcomes of the students. It also helps to evaluate the teaching methods in the light of performance of students.
Development of positive attitude : Teacher’s training program aim to develop positive attitude of teachers towards teaching profession. They help to develop confidence in trainees to face the problems and adaptability to deal with unexpected problems in daily classroom teaching. Earlier teachers used to give undue importance to theoretical subjects in school. Activities like debates and drama or sports were considered a waste of time. Nowadays, these activities are given their due importance for the harmonious development of personality.
