Right now, high school Psychology students don't always learn about I-O Psychology.  However, that might be changing!

Many students’ first exposure to psychology comes during their formative years in high school. In a high school Introductory Psychology class, students get an overview of the discipline, similar to what they hear in undergraduate classes, though geared towards high school students. Perhaps not surprisingly, I-O is an area that sometimes (perhaps most of the time) does not get much coverage in these classes.

In 1999, the American Psychological Association (APA) Board of Educational Affairs put forward the original National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula. The standards include coverage of seven content domains, including Scientific Inquiry, Biopsychology, Development and Learning, Sociocultural Context, Cognition, Individual Variation, and Applications of Psychological Science. If you are interested in learning more about the standards follow the link here:

https://www.apa.org/education/k12/national-standards.aspx

Recently, the APA Council of Representatives approved a second revision of these National Standards. In November, two SIOP members, Joe Allen and Traci Sitzmann, were approved to serve on an Advisory Panel as expert reviewers of the National Standards. On the panel, they will be able to review and comment on the curriculum, share thoughts and insights, and suggest changes where desired. Although this does not mean that I-O Psychology will suddenly appear in the curriculum for all high school students, it does mean that I-O Psychologists have a voice in the setting of standards for curriculum for these early learners!

Keep a look out for updates on this exciting prospect!

What exactly is GIT?  Check out our first blog post explaining who we are!

Do you have any other thoughts on how SIOP members can be involved with GIT’s efforts?  We would love to hear from you!  If you have any questions, ideas, thoughts, or suggestions, please feel free to contact anyone from the task force!  This blog is maintained by Nick Salter nicholas.p.salter@hofstra.edu

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