Emerging Educational Psychologist: A Narrative Inquiry of a Doctoral Candidate’s Journey

• In Event: Advocating for Educational Psychology Within Teacher Education: A Reflection Across Career Levels and Institutions

Abstract

Purpose
I am establishing my identity as an educational psychologist in the areas of curriculum development and supporting teachers (Love, 2009) centering research on the teacher candidate experience. As a doctoral candidate, I aim to advance my knowledge and skills in conducting research, teaching educational psychology, and engaging in service to help me find my voice and place in the field. I strive to develop competencies that will enrich my future students with the knowledge to produce developmentally, culturally, and equitably appropriate education for their students.

Perspectives and Method
Educational psychology has played a significant role in my scholarship. I was drawn to the field after completing my undergraduate studies and a year of national service with AmeriCorps. The tenets of centering and understanding teaching and learning were intriguing to me and I could see myself engaging and enjoying the process and I did. Since then my interest in educational psychology has evolved. Through building community, partnerships, networking, and professional development, I have found a sense of belonging in the field.

It is imperative that the teaching of educational psychology continues to evolve. Current issues include anti-colonialism and decolonization. This calls for deliberate and intentional transformation of the discipline that challenges existing methods and approaches to research and teaching in the field (Lopez, 2022; Tuck & Yang, 2021). Similarly, the dialogue on race in the teaching of educational psychology is an area that has historically been arduous given the context of the United States and recently has been exacerbated due to current legislation nationwide (DeCuir-Gunby & Schutz, 2014; Kumar & DeCuir-Gunby, 2022; Strunk & Andrzejewski, 2023). Thus, the teaching of educational psychology should embrace the challenges, critical issues, and areas of growth implicated in the discourse of anti-colonialism, decolonization, and race. Emerging and practicing teacher educators alike need opportunities to develop their teaching practice, research agenda, and service in ways that enable them to foster educational possibilities that dismantle marginalized injustices.

To enact change and advance the field of teacher education through educational psychology we must engage in meaningful work that will promote just education for all. Through my teaching of educational psychology, I hope to impart knowledge of the tenets of the field that promote anti-colonial, anti-racist, and socially just scholarship. Self-study and narrative inquiry, particularly reflexive journaling and record keeping, was used in this paper to discuss my journey through candidacy, the trials, and gains in becoming an equitable teacher educator. As an emerging educational psychologist, I aim to develop culturally responsive aspiring teachers who enact anti-racist, social justice, and culturally competent teaching practices that empower their marginalized students’ academic, social-emotional, and psychological well-being.

Conclusions and Significance
The reflections shared in this paper should hopefully validate the experiences of doctoral students going through the process of the PhD journey, specifically, those who are educational psychology scholars. I hope that inspires teacher educators, mentors, and advisors of doctoral students to elevate their students through knowledge, experiences, and opportunities that will prepare them to be change agents in the field.

Author

• Kerrijo Ellis, University of South Florida