Rethinking psychological literacy for introductory courses in pre-tertiary and higher psychology education

Abstract

Psychological literacy has become a key concept for the teaching and learning of psychology in higher education and is a laudable goal of pre-tertiary psychology education. The widely used definition of McGovern and his colleagues enables a subject-specific contribution to liberal education. Nevertheless, this definition also includes general educational goals and is not specific enough for introductory courses on psychology, which provide an overview of the field and familiarise students with various ways of psychological thinking. This practice exchange paper shows how Sternberg’s triarchic model of psychology learning and teaching could be used to elaborate a more subject-specific notion of psychological literacy which would interlink psychological knowledge, psychological thinking skills and reflective psychological attitudes that are necessary to critically reflect common-sense psychology. This more focused and comprehensive understanding of psychological literacy challenges the unquestioned topical approach to the teaching of introductory psychology and requires a rethinking of the basic arrangement of course materials.