Educational psychology and R&D&I : A strategic action programme for the twenty-first century

Current academic and professional reality in Psychology has brought the pursuit of undergraduate and graduate qualifications to an important crossroads. The objective of this study is to explain the need to adopt an integrated approach, both academic and professional, in order to construct a single scientific/technological model that underpins work in psychology in today¿s knowledge-based society. First, through a consideration of the academic and professional changes affecting the field of psychology, we identify the current parameters of Educational Psychology, giving special emphasis to scientific/technological factors. Next, we review the different professional areas of Educational Psychology, and propose R&D&I activity as an element that should represent a common theme running throughout Educational and School Psychology for the 21st century. Finally, we offer examples of the components of this new area of work in Educational Psychology, which link it with the classical fields of the discipline. We conclude by pointing out the need to analyze today¿s reality, in its scientific-technological, academic and professional aspects, with a view to making R&D&I an integral part of Psychology in general and of Educational Psychology in particular. To this end, we postulate a Strategic Action Programme to meet the challenges facing Psychology as a science and as a professio