Date of Graduation
1997
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
EdD
College
College of Education and Human Services
Committee Chair
Daniel E. Hursh
Committee Co-Chair
Rogers McAvoy
Committee Member
Samuel F. Stack Jr.
Committee Member
Floyd L. Stead
Committee Member
Diane Woodrum
Abstract
Some people argue that Western psychology and Asian psychology are fundamentally different and irreconcilable. Western psychology is scientific and analytic-reductionistic, while Asian psychology is concerned with man's harmony{dollar}\\...{dollar} (in Paranjpe et al, 1988, p18). This study examines and compares the scientific roots of Western psychology and the humanistic roots of Asian psychology in an attempt to determine commonality between Chinese and American educational psychology. A historical comparative method is used in this study. Two approaches, the personalistic and the naturalistic are employed to examine the development of educational psychology in China and America. Results show that Western psychology has been more scientifically developed than Eastern, but Chinese psychology, to some extent, also has a scientific heritage from ancient philosophy and Western psychology. This study also shows that educational psychology in both countries is rooted in ancient philosophy, influenced by modern psychology and benefiting from functional psychology.
Recommended Citation
Cervenka, Huiping Liu, "A comparative study of the development of educational psychology in China and America." (1997). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 8594.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/8594