Aims and scope
The field of social psychology spans the boundary between the disciplines of psychology and sociology and has traditionally been associated with empirical research. Many studies of human behaviour in education are conducted by persons who identify with social psychology or whose work falls into the social psychological ambit. Several textbooks have been published and a variety of courses are being offered on the `social psychology of education’, but no journal has hitherto appeared to cover the field.

Social Psychology of Education fills this gap, covering a wide variety of content concerns, theoretical interests and research methods, among which are:

Content concerns:
classroom instruction
decision making in education
educational innovation
concerns for gender, race, ethnicity and social class
knowledge creation, transmission and effects
leadership in schools and school systems
long-term effects of instructional processes
micropolitics of schools
student cultures and interactions
teacher recruitment and careers
teacher- student relations

Theoretical interests:
achievement motivation
attitude theory
attribution theory
conflict management and the learning of pro-social behaviour
cultural and social capital
discourse analysis
group dynamics
role theory
social exchange theory
social transition
social learning theory
status attainment
symbolic interaction
the study of organisations

Research methods:
comparative research
experiments
formal observations
historical studies
literature reviews
panel studies
qualitative methods
sample surveys

For social psychologists with a special interest in educational matters, educational researchers with a social psychological approach.