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National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula
Executive Summary
The mission of the task force and subsequent
revision committees was to prepare a document that can be used by policymakers, educational leaders, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders to determine what high school psychology students should know and how they can demonstrate what they know. Use of the term "standards" in this document is consistent with national practices in K-12 education when disciplinary societies, teacher organizations, or other nonregulatory groups develop benchmark learning objectives for curriculum development and assessment of student learning in particular subjects of study. Consistent with the use of the term "standards" in a secondary school setting, these standards are advisory.
This document provides standards designed for 15 units: introduction and research methods, biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, motivation and emotion, stress, coping, and health, life span development, personality and assessment, learning, memory, thinking and language, states of consciousness, individual differences, psychological disorders, treatment of psychological disorders, and social and cultural dimensions of behavior. The five content domains are Methods, Biopsychological, Developmental, Cognitive, and Variations in Individual and Group Behavior. The content standards are organized according to these domains as illustrated below:
The placement of Methods at the center of the model underscores the importance of teaching the content and skills consistent with the science of psychology as the core activity of the course.
Process of Developing and Revising the Standards
Initial development of these psychology curricula standards resulted through the contributions of many individuals and groups. Virginia Andreoli Mathie, PhD, her committee from the APA National Conference on Enhancing the Quality of Undergraduate Education in Psychology (St. Mary's College, June 1991), the APA Board of Educational Affairs (BEA), the APA High School Standards Task Force, and Jill Reich, PhD, executive director of the Education Directorate, were key leaders in the development of the original psychology curricula standards published in August 1999.
The psychology curricula standards began with BEA approval for the project in spring 1994. The APA Board of Directors approved a High School Standards Task Force in June 1994, with subsequent approval of the task force by the APA Council of Representatives. The initial set of standards was developed in 1995, and the document went through seven drafts as APA boards, committees, and divisions, and members of the APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) reviewed the standards and submitted comments for consideration. In spring 1998, the final version was approved by BEA. The APA Board of Directors approved the final version in fall 1998, followed by the APA Council of Representatives’ approval in August 1999.
For this first revision of these standards, recommendations were solicited in 2001 from all APA directorates, boards and committees, divisions, and caucuses to update the content standards, performance standards, and performance indicators. Psychologists identified as content experts from each of the five original domains (i.e., Methods, Biopsychological, Developmental, Cognitive, and Variations in Individual and Group Behavior) were asked to review the set of recommendations for each respective domain. The High School Psychology Standards Working Group reviewed the experts’ feedback and developed the revised standards in November 2003. APA boards and committees reviewed these revisions and provided additional feedback in fall 2004. A new Standards Working Group convened in January 2005 and incorporated the additional suggestions. The final revised document was circulated to all APA boards and committees in spring 2005. The APA Board of Directors approved the final revised version of the psychology curricula standards in June 2005, followed by APA Council of Representatives' approval in August 2005.
Resource Documents
Resources used for creating the psychology curricula standards included references to existing high school standards promulgated by similar disciplinary organizations (i.e., Principles and Standards for School Mathematics promulgated by the National Council of Teachers of Math, Standards for the English Language Arts promulgated by the National Council of Teachers of English, National Standards for History promulgated by the National Center for History in the Schools, Curriculum Standards for Social Studies promulgated by the National Council for the Social Studies, and National Science Education Standards promulgated by the National Research Council) (NCTM; NCTE; NCH; NCSS; NCR; 2004). Standards from similar disciplinary organizations were examined relative to these standards. The psychology curricula standards parallel similar standards of related disciplines.
Additional resources included use of the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists (APA, 2003), the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2002), and the Handbook for Enhancing Undergraduate Education in Psychology (McGovern, 1993). The Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists were used as a guide for informing the committee about content specific to education. Similarly, the content that is contained in the standards is consistent with the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Finally, the Handbook for Enhancing Undergraduate Education in Psychology offers guidance regarding curricula for the undergraduate major. The psychology curricula standards are designed to address the introductory
course in psychology; hence, the Handbook for Enhancing Undergraduate Education in Psychology provided support for the domains of introductory psychology.
Individual and Cultural Diversity Issues
The psychology curricula standards have been reviewed for cultural diversity issues consistent with the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists (APA, 2003). Further, expert reviewers who were nominated by the Committee of Women in Psychology reviewed these standards. The respective committees of APA that are specifically focused on issues of diversity (e.g., Committee of Ethnic Minority Affairs, Committee of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns) also provided input to the document.
Feedback
The task force and subsequent revision committees view this publication as a “living document.” All of the standards have been reviewed by numerous educators and scientists and revised extensively.Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Feedback can be sent to the High School Psychology Standards Working Group, c/o APA Education Directorate, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.
References
American Psychological Association. (2003). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. American Psychologist, 58, 377-402.
American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 57, 1060-1073.
McGovern, T. V. (1993). Handbook for enhancing undergraduate education in psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
National Council of Teachers of Math. (n.d.). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Retrieved July 2, 2004, from http://standards.nctm.org
National Council of Teachers of English. (n.d.). Standards for the English language arts. Retrieved July 2, 2004, from http://www.ncte.org/about/overstandards/110846.htm.
National Center for History in the Schools. (n.d.). National standards for history, basic edition. Retrieved July 2, 2004, from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/.
National Council for the Social Studies. (n.d.). Curriculum standards for social studies. Retrieved July 2, 2004, from http://www.ncss.org/standards/.
National Research Council. (n.d.) National science education standards. Retrieved July 2, 2004, from http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/.
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