After completing your bachelor’s or master’s degree in education psychology, you may wish to join professional organizations for educational psychologists in a bid to build strong networks and connections to increase your likelihood of landing job opportunities. However, since there are a massive amount of professional associations devoted to educational psychology globally, choosing the best one may be daunting. The following is a brief overview of the top five associations that are guaranteed to give you top-notch opportunities to help you jumpstart a rewarding career in educational psychology.
1. American psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the world’s biggest organizations of psychologists boasting of over 130, 000 members globally. The mission of the organization is advancements of communication, creating and application of a wide range of research-based knowledge and expertise in psychology to benefit its members and the whole society by improving lives. APA members benefit from discount programs on books, access to electronic databases, and registration to participate on the APA Annual Convention for more learning opportunities.
2. Association of Educational Therapists (AET)
AET is dedicated to defining and refining educational therapy as a professional practice, setting standards and values for ethical practice, and promoting efficient service delivery through professional training and development programs. The organization’s mission is to provide leadership, training, and certification to educational therapy professionals; to promote collaboration among allied professionals; and to facilitate public awareness and access to educational therapy services.
3. National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME)
NCME is a professional association of people involved in assessment, testing, evaluation, and other educational measurement aspects. Members participate in construction and use of standardized tests, new assessment methods, and new program design and evaluation. The organization is incorporated exclusively for educational, literary, scientific and charitable purposes, primarily the dissemination of knowledge on theory and techniques available for education measurement; encouraging scholarly efforts in advancing the science of education measurement and its application; and applications of educational measurements in both individual and group contexts.
4. Association for Psychological Science (APS)
This is a non-profit psychological association that’s devoted to the progression of scientific psychology studies. Formerly the American Psychological Society, the organization is the largest general association focusing primarily on psychology research. The organization’s goal is to promote, protect, and advance scientific-based psychology in research, education, application, and the improvement of human welfare. The organization is only open to people with doctoral degrees in psychology and related fields and comprise of educators, scientists, leaders, administrators, clinicians, and researchers.
5. American School Counseling Association
The American School Counseling Association is exclusively focused on providing its members with resources, professional advice ad development, advocacy, and publications to school counselors globally. The organization supports school counselors and educational psychologists in helping their students prepare and focus on fulfilling academic, career and social development to enable them succeed in school and become responsible members of the society.
Conclusion
Joining a professional organization can provide a plethora of benefits, especially if you are looking to expand your network, take control of your career, learn the best industry practices, broaden your knowledge, and astonish your future employers with an impressive resume, according to Forbes. The highlighted are just a few of the associations that educational psychology graduates and experts commonly join to further their professional development. If you are specialized or planning to specialize in specific areas of educational psychology, you can opt for more specialized associations. For more information on the best professional organization that fits your area of specialization, more research or a visit to your career adviser, program director, or mentor is highly recommended.
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