Why is educational psychology different from what most people imagine?
When people hear the word psychology, therapy is often the first thing that comes to mind. Yet educational psychology begins from a much broader question: why do people behave differently across different environments?
For Dr McCartney, this curiosity was what first attracted him to psychology. Rather than focusing solely on individuals, he became fascinated by the way behaviour changes depending on relationships, expectations and context. Listening to Sir Ken Robinson's work on education and creativity further strengthened that interest, eventually leading him towards educational psychology.
Rather than asking how to change one child, educational psychologists are equally interested in changing classrooms, school cultures and organisational practices. Small improvements at a systems level can influence hundreds of children, making educational psychology unique among many psychological professions. As he explains, behaviour never exists in isolation. It develops through interactions between children, teachers, families and the culture created within schools. Changing those systems—even through relatively small adjustments—can influence not only one pupil, but entire classrooms and school communities.
This systems perspective is what makes educational psychology unique. Rather than simply asking how children can adapt to school, educational psychologists also consider how schools can better adapt to children. Ultimately, schools are not simply places where children learn, they are environments that shape behaviour, identity and development every single day.
What do schools often misunderstand about student behaviour?
Behaviour is often viewed as something to manage. However, according to Dr McCartney, the more important question is what behaviour is communicating.
He suggests that behaviour generally emerges through three broad lenses: typical development, trauma, or neurodiversity. Understanding these different influences allows educators to move beyond seeing behaviour simply as compliance or non-compliance.
Historically, many schools have relied on behaviour policies centred around rules and consequences. While these approaches may create order, they do not always help adults understand why behaviour occurs in the first place. More recently, relational approaches have become increasingly common, recognising that trust and connection often play a far greater role in influencing behaviour than punishment alone.
Relationships cannot exist in isolation either. They require an entire school culture to support them. Today's students face increasingly demanding academic expectations, often operating at the limits of their cognitive capacity for much of the school day. When adults experience prolonged cognitive overload, we recognise the emotional consequences and call it burnout. When children experience something similar, however, we often label it as misbehaviour, defiance or disruption.
Instead of immediately asking how behaviour can be stopped, educational psychology encourages us to ask what pressures, relationships or unmet needs may be contributing to it. Behaviour becomes less about discipline and more about understanding. As Dr McCartney explains, relationships, curiosity, motivation and wellbeing are not distractions from learning—they are the conditions that allow meaningful learning to happen in the first place.
Behaviour doesn't exist in isolation. It emerges through relationships, expectations, culture and the systems adults create around children.
— Adam McCartney
How can teachers better support students when resources are limited?
When schools face limited funding, growing class sizes and increasing demands, it is easy to assume meaningful support requires more resources. Yet one of the strongest messages from my conversation was that the most powerful intervention often costs very little.
For Dr McCartney, everything begins with relationships. While resources certainly make a difference, relationships shape how students experience every aspect of school. Feeling recognised, understood and valued creates the psychological safety needed for learning, particularly for students who are struggling emotionally or academically.
This philosophy forms the foundation of his Therapeutic Teaching framework, a programme designed to help teachers understand child development from a psychological perspective. Rather than viewing academic learning as separate from emotional development, the framework explores how sensory processing, language, emotional regulation, identity and critical thinking all build upon one another. Academic success remains important, but confidence, communication, relationships and identity are equally essential outcomes of education. Rather than competing with learning, these developmental factors make meaningful learning possible.
The simplest example is to encourage teachers beginning each day with something as straightforward as greeting students by name or offering a handshake. While these actions may appear insignificant, psychologically they communicate something much deeper: "I recognise you. I value you, and I'm glad you're here."
Belonging is rarely built through grand gestures. Instead, it develops through countless small moments of recognition that gradually become part of a school's culture. When students consistently experience those moments, trust begins to grow. Trust encourages them to ask questions, admit mistakes, seek support and engage more fully with learning.
What shapes a child's confidence and sense of self?
Confidence, according to Dr McCartney, develops not only through achievement, but through feeling accepted by the people around us. Reflecting on his own experiences, he described how differently he felt between primary and secondary school. In primary school, he often felt misunderstood by the adults around him and sensed that they had already formed assumptions about what he was capable of achieving. Those assumptions gradually influenced how he viewed himself.
Secondary school was a completely different experience. Supportive teachers believed in his potential, accepted his individuality and encouraged him to grow. Looking back, he believes that change in environment fundamentally shaped his confidence.
His experience illustrates an important psychological idea: children often begin to see themselves through the expectations of the adults around them. Parents undoubtedly play a significant role, but schools also become powerful environments where children develop beliefs about their own abilities, identity and potential.
Acceptance means recognising children's individuality while understanding that mistakes are an inevitable part of development. Instead of defining students by their difficulties, adults should help them overcome those barriers.
In acceptance, mistakes become opportunities to learn, repair relationships and continue developing.
He also spoke passionately about restorative practice, suggesting it is sometimes misunderstood as simply using gentler language or encouraging students to apologise. True restorative conversations go much further. They create opportunities for everyone involved to understand one another's perspectives, acknowledge the impact of their actions and work collaboratively towards repairing relationships. Accountability remains important, but it exists alongside empathy rather than replacing it.
If Dr McCartney could change one thing about the education system using psychological research, what would it be and why?
When discussing the future of education, many conversations focus on improving grades or raising academic standards. Yet Dr McCartney believes the bigger question is whether schools are preparing young people for life beyond the classroom. If he could redesign the education system, he would begin by simplifying the curriculum and prioritising a smaller number of skills that children will continue using throughout adulthood, with literacy and numeracy remaining at the heart of education.
Beyond these essentials, however, he believes schools should place much greater emphasis on collaboration, critical thinking and purpose. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into society, success will depend less on memorising information and more on knowing how to evaluate it, question it and work effectively with others. Technical knowledge will always matter, but the ability to collaborate, analyse evidence and solve complex problems will become even more valuable.
One of the most interesting ideas was his belief that every child should leave school with something they genuinely care about; an interest, passion or a long-term goal, because these give learning meaning.
He illustrates this through the example of a student who dreams of becoming a baker. Suddenly, literacy becomes understanding recipes and food safety guidance. Mathematics becomes calculating measurements, costs and profits. Science explains how ingredients react, while business skills become essential for running a successful bakery. Learning is no longer disconnected from real life. It becomes purposeful.
Ultimately, he argues that schools should not be judged solely by examination results, but by whether they develop adults who can think critically, collaborate effectively and continue learning long after formal education has ended.
What advice would Dr McCartney give psychology students who want to create a meaningful impact but are unsure whether educational psychology is right for them?
For students considering educational psychology, Dr McCartney believes the journey should begin with a much more personal question: What matters most to you?
Before choosing any career pathway, he encourages psychology students to understand their own values and the type of impact they hope to make. Educational psychology can be incredibly rewarding, but it is also a profession that requires patience, resilience and a willingness to work within complex systems. Many people enter education because they want to improve children's wellbeing and create more nurturing schools. Those aspirations remain entirely possible, but meaningful change rarely happens quickly.
Dr McCartney repeatedly returned to one idea: systems are complicated. Research may suggest an ideal solution, but schools also operate within financial pressures, government policies, organisational cultures and practical constraints. Improving education is therefore rarely as simple as implementing the latest evidence. This reflects one of the profession's biggest transitions; rather than convincing others that you are right, meaningful influence often comes from collaboration.
Educational psychology is therefore a profession built on curiosity. It requires recognising that no school, no organisation and no child exists in isolation. Every situation is shaped by countless interacting factors, and understanding those systems is what allows lasting improvements to happen. As Dr McCartney explains, there will always be another system to understand, another relationship to strengthen and another opportunity to make children's experiences just a little better.
Schools shouldn't simply produce students who are good at passing examinations. They should produce adults who can think critically, collaborate effectively and pursue something they genuinely enjoy.
— Adam McCartney