Becoming a psychology undergraduate:integrating study skills and integrating students

Three years of action research into a study skills and transition programme for psychology undergraduates are reported. The programme began as a ‘bolt-on’ response to perceptions of student deficit and developed to focus on transition to university. Data from three cohorts and over 600 students show attendance to be associated with higher academic grades and progression rates. The programme has also helped to establish relationships with peers and staff, prepare students for assessments, set expectations about study, and provided an opportunity to ask questions, to work collaboratively and to learn about referencing and plagiarism. Concerns with study skills highlighted by Wingate (2006) and others are discussed.

Enhancing critical analysis and problem-solving skills in undergraduate psychology : An evaluation of a collaborative learning and problem-based learning approach

Critical analysis and problem-solving skills are two graduate attributes that are important in ensuring that graduates are well equipped in working across research and practice settings within the discipline of psychology. Despite the importance of these skills, few psychology undergraduate programmes have undertaken any systematic development, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum activities to foster these graduate skills. The current study reports on the development and implementation of a tutorial programme designed to enhance the critical analysis and problem-solving skills of undergraduate psychology students. Underpinned by collaborative learning and problem-based learning, the tutorial programme was administered to 273 third year undergraduate students in psychology. Latent Growth Curve Modelling revealed that students demonstrated a significant linear increase in self-reported critical analysis and problem-solving skills across the tutorial programme. The findings suggest that the development of inquiry-based curriculum offers important opportunities for psychology undergraduates to develop critical analysis and problem-solving skills.

Benchmarking the teaching of Australian Indigenous content in undergraduate psychology

This paper discusses a teaching and learning project on incorporating Australian Indigenous content into psychology undergraduate programs. After the impetus generated by the Head of Schools meeting in Perth in 1998 and the publication of the special issue of the Australian Psychologist on Psychology and Indigenous peoples in 2000, little progress seems to have been made. The paper discusses the process of developing curriculum guidelines for psychology academics wishing to include Indigenous content. These include the need to critically examine the assumptions and history of Western psychology in relation to Indigenous peoples, the inclusion of non-conventional teaching and learning methods, staff and institutional support, and appropriate staff development. While we have been encouraged by the growing support for this process, there are also significant obstacles, including rigidity of thinking about psychology programs and the attitude that it is all too hard. It is important to get this right, since the token inclusion of Indigenous material into otherwise mainstream Western psychology courses will be ineffective in bringing about the required understanding for psychology students wishing to work with Indigenous people in their professional careers and bring about social justice.

Towards cultural competence : Australian Indigenous content in undergraduate psychology

This paper discusses the development and preliminary analysis of psychology undergraduate courses on cultural competence in relation to Indigenous Australians. The paper summarises the process that led to the formation of draft curriculum guidelines for psychology academics, including the need to critically examine the assumptions and history of Western psychology in relation to Indigenous peoples, the inclusion of non-conventional teaching and learning methods, staff and institutional support, and appropriate staff development. The paper then discusses the responses of students to one of the courses developed from these guidelines. The courses were well received by students and although they do not in themselves teach professional psychological skills in working effectively with Indigenous people, they provide a solid basis for the development of such skills. Because this is a relatively new area, it is likely that there will be much refinement of these courses in coming years.

Enhancing critical analysis and problem-solving skills in undergraduate psychology: An evaluation of a collaborative learning and problem-based learning approach

Critical analysis and problem-solving skills are two graduate attributes that are important in ensuring that graduates are well equipped in working across research and practice settings within the discipline of psychology. Despite the importance of these skills, few psychology undergraduate programmes have undertaken any systematic development, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum activities to foster these graduate skills. The current study reports on the development and implementation of a tutorial programme designed to enhance the critical analysis and problem-solving skills of undergraduate psychology students. Underpinned by collaborative learning and problem-based learning, the tutorial programme was administered to 273 third year undergraduate students in psychology. Latent Growth Curve Modelling revealed that students demonstrated a significant linear increase in self-reported critical analysis and problem-solving skills across the tutorial programme. The findings suggest that the development of inquiry-based curriculum offers important opportunities for psychology undergraduates to develop critical analysis and problem-solving skills. © 2013 The Australian Psychological Society.

Psychology students’ beliefs about integrating Complementary and Alternative Therapy (CAT) into their future psychology practice

We investigated whether belief-based differences exist between students who have strong and weak intentions to integrate complementary and alternative therapy (CAT) into future psychology practice by recommending CAT or specific CAT practitioners to clients. A cross-sectional methodology was used. Psychology undergraduate students (N = 106) participated in a paper-based questionnaire design to explore their underlying beliefs related to CAT integration. The study was undertaken at a major university in Queensland, Australia. The theory of planned behaviour belief-based framework guided the study. Multivariate analyses of variance examined the influence of behavioural, normative, and control beliefs on the strong and weak intention groups. A multiple regression analysis investigated the relative importance of these belief sets for predicting intentions. We found that clear differences emerged between strong and weak intenders on behavioural and normative beliefs, but not control beliefs. Strong intenders perceived the positive outcomes of integrating CAT, such as being able to offer clients a more holistic practice and having confidence in the practitioners/practices, as more likely to occur than weak intenders, and perceived the negative outcome of compromising my professional practice as less likely. Strong in-tenders were more likely than weak intenders to perceive that a range of important referents (e.g., clients) would think they should integrate CAT. Results of the regression analysis revealed the same pattern of results in that behavioural and normative beliefs, but not control beliefs, significantly predicted intentions. The findings from this study can be used to inform policy and educational initiatives that aim to encourage CAT use in psychology practice.

Hartley Library Induction for Psychology Undergraduates October 2009

This presentation provides some basic information and orientation for the new cohort of Undergraduates entering the BSc (Hons) Programme in the School of Psychology, University of Southampton.

Undergraduate peer mentoring:an investigation into processes, activities and outcomes

Peer mentoring of undergraduates is increasingly being used in higher education to reduce first year attrition by aiding transition to university. The authors propose that peer mentoring may also be a means of transmitting the values and ethics which reflect academic and personal integrity and underpin graduate and professional identity. In a qualitative study, they examined students' expectations and subsequent experience of a psychology undergraduate pilot mentoring scheme, together with the process and content. Mentors and mentees felt that mentors had a unique part to play in aiding transition to university. Mentors' advice reflected implicit academic values rather than strategic short cuts and mentoring cued reflection on their own development. The implications for encouraging student participation in mentoring schemes are discussed.

As políticas sociais na formação graduada do psicólogo no Piauí: análise curricular dos cursos

This research aimed to investigate the place of social policies in Psychology undergraduate programs from Piauí/Brazil. A documental study was done by analysing the Projeto Pedagógico de Curso (PPC) from five universities. Also, interviews were conducted, for each program, with a coordinator and a professor who teaches subjects related to social policies. The main results indicates that the Psychology undergraduate programs in Piauí are recent, created between the late 1990s and early 2000s, when professionals in this area were in demand. The social policies appear in PPC related to student profile; curricula emphasis, subjects and internships; albeit in a peripheral condition. Furthermore, disconnection between proposed profile and the curriculum; fragmentation and insufficient content about social policies; and predominance of clinical area were perceived in these institutions. It is noteworthy that health policies stand out in PPC while social assistance policy or other social policies were poorly mentioned. Therefore, the place of social policies must be reviewed in Psychology undergraduate programs from Piauí in order to include other social policies and improve the subjects articulation, assuming a central, critical and policy perspective

La enseñanza de la psicoterapia de la tercera fuerza en la UNLP

En este trabajo nos proponemos indagar los contenidos relacionados a la psicoterapia de la Tercera Fuerza, mediante el análisis de programas de asignaturas vinculadas a la práctica clínica y psicoterapéutica. A los fines de nuestra investigación, nos hemos centrado en la formación universitaria en carreras de psicología, en el particular analizaremos la carrera de psicologíaen la Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). Hemos considerado elcaso de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, por la antigua tradición fenomenológica-existencial que existiera en los años iniciales de aquella carrera y por la influencia de personalidades relevantes para la universidad, vinculadas a la psicología existencial, tal es el caso de Luis María Ravagnan. En este estudio hemos realizado un recorte del material analizado, seleccionando los programas de aquellas materias que tenían vinculación directa con la psicoterapia o la clínica en diversos años, y se procedió al análisis de los contenidos, bibliografía, objetivos y fundamentos de cada uno de los programas

La enseñanza de la psicoterapia de la tercera fuerza en la UNLP

En este trabajo nos proponemos indagar los contenidos relacionados a la psicoterapia de la Tercera Fuerza, mediante el análisis de programas de asignaturas vinculadas a la práctica clínica y psicoterapéutica. A los fines de nuestra investigación, nos hemos centrado en la formación universitaria en carreras de psicología, en el particular analizaremos la carrera de psicologíaen la Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). Hemos considerado elcaso de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, por la antigua tradición fenomenológica-existencial que existiera en los años iniciales de aquella carrera y por la influencia de personalidades relevantes para la universidad, vinculadas a la psicología existencial, tal es el caso de Luis María Ravagnan. En este estudio hemos realizado un recorte del material analizado, seleccionando los programas de aquellas materias que tenían vinculación directa con la psicoterapia o la clínica en diversos años, y se procedió al análisis de los contenidos, bibliografía, objetivos y fundamentos de cada uno de los programas

La enseñanza de la psicoterapia de la tercera fuerza en la UNLP

En este trabajo nos proponemos indagar los contenidos relacionados a la psicoterapia de la Tercera Fuerza, mediante el análisis de programas de asignaturas vinculadas a la práctica clínica y psicoterapéutica. A los fines de nuestra investigación, nos hemos centrado en la formación universitaria en carreras de psicología, en el particular analizaremos la carrera de psicologíaen la Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). Hemos considerado elcaso de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, por la antigua tradición fenomenológica-existencial que existiera en los años iniciales de aquella carrera y por la influencia de personalidades relevantes para la universidad, vinculadas a la psicología existencial, tal es el caso de Luis María Ravagnan. En este estudio hemos realizado un recorte del material analizado, seleccionando los programas de aquellas materias que tenían vinculación directa con la psicoterapia o la clínica en diversos años, y se procedió al análisis de los contenidos, bibliografía, objetivos y fundamentos de cada uno de los programas