This Encyclopedia intends to provide a research-based overview in an educational perspective of the present state-of-the-art of our knowledge and understanding of the conditions, processes, and modifiabilities of human development and learning. The Encyclopedia focuses on both developmental psychology and instructional psychology.
Over the past decade the boundaries between these two separate research domains have become increasingly obscure. Indeed, developmental psychologists have shown a growing interest in the impact of environmental factors on development, this has led to the study of educational and instructional variables, the pre-dominantly environmental factors. Meanwhile, instructional psychology has become a major subdomain of research on human cognition and development. A substantial contribution to the synergy between both domains derives from the robust research finding that developmental changes are very important conditions, as well as consequences, of the acquisition of knowledge and (meta)cognitive strategies. The resulting changes have inspired the decision to combine both developmental and instructional psychology into one single volume.
The trend toward the integration of both domains notwithstanding, the systematic discussion of their research findings requires a certain delimitation of the two fields. The Encyclopedia is divided into 16 areas in order to reflect the specific nature, as well as the integration, of both domains. In the first section, which is most representative of the integrative tendency, a general framework of research on human development, learning and instruction is outlined. The next six chapters are concerned with the various aspects of human development and learning. The remaining nine sections represent an overview of the research findings on learning and instruction which are relevant to education.
Articles include updated and revised material from the International Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd Edition (described by Choice as being "a premier resource when judged on virtually every criteria applied to a reference work"). The Encyclopedia provides an informative introduction to aspects of developmental psychology and instructional psychology that significantly influence education.
