APS College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists
The official page for the Australian Psychological Society College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists.
Australian Psychological Society College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists
20/04/2026
In Episode 23 of Subject for Change our host, Camelia reflects on the importance of multidisciplinary teams in supporting children and young people to achieve their best in schools.
How do you work together with teachers, learning support staff, and allied health to ensure a comprehensive approach to supporting children and young people in learning environments?
🎧 Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or via the link in our bio.
20/04/2026
In Episode 23 of Subject for Change, our guest Pamela Snow reflects on the importance of integrating research in cognitive neuroscience into teaching practice.
As an educational and developmental psychologist how do you work with teachers and schools to build a shared understanding of how children learn?
🎧 Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or via the link in our bio.
17/04/2026
07/04/2026
In Episode 22, Complexity in Practice, Camelia reflects on the importance of leading by example in our work.
As psychologists, we often support others to sit with discomfort, reflect, and grow, but how often do we create space to do this work ourselves?
Doing our own therapeutic work is part of practising ethically and thoughtfully. It helps us notice our biases, stay grounded, and show up in a way that truly supports the people we work with.
What does this look like for you in your own practice?
🎧 Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or via the link in our bio.
07/04/2026
In Episode 22, Complexity in Practice, our host Max reflects on the intersection of being a psychologist and a parent.
For those who have children, how did your practice change once you became a parent?
Did it shift how you understand families, respond to distress, or hold space for the messiness of real life?
We’d love to hear your reflections in the comments.
🎧 Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or via the link in our bio.
07/04/2026
In our 22nd episode, Max and Camelia sit down with Educational and Developmental Psychologist Stephanie Lau to explore how we support complex clients and families who may be developmentally and or culturally vulnerable.
How do you do this work in a way that is thoughtful, reflective, and genuinely helpful?
How do you build a deep understanding of child development, trauma, resilience, and healing, while staying aware of your own assumptions and biases?
This conversation unpacks what it means to show up with curiosity, cultural humility, and care, especially when working with families whose experiences may be very different from our own.
Listen to Subject for Change now on Spotify, Apple Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
26/03/2026
📘 New issue out now 📘
Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Volume 43, Issue 1 (2026), is now available, led by Editor Dr Kelly-Ann Allen and supported by our Associate Editors and Editorial Board.
As the official journal of the Australian Psychological Society College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists (CEDP), it brings together research from across our field to support how we understand learning, development, and mental health in real-world contexts.
The work reflects the strength of our community, with research that is widely read, carefully reviewed, and shaping practice, policy, and future directions in Educational and Developmental Psychology.
CEDP members can access the journal via the dashboard when logged into the APS website or app.
15/03/2026
📱 Bots, Brains & Belonging: The New Psychology of Youth Chatbot Use
AI chatbots are rapidly shaping how young people think, learn and seek support. In fact, 4 in 5 young people aged 8–25 are now using AI (Australian Youth Digital Index, 2025).
What does this mean for psychologists, educators and those working with young people?
In this APS College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists webinar, Andrew Chua will explore:
• how young people are currently using AI chatbots
• potential cognitive, mental health and wellbeing impacts
• risk and protective factors in education contexts
• how psychologists can support safe and constructive AI use
📅 Tuesday 24 March 2026
⏰ 7.00pm – 8.30pm AEDT
💻 Live webinar + recording available
🎟 Free for APS members
🔗 Register via the APS events page.
14/12/2025
13/12/2025
✨ Call for Submissions: Belonging Blindspots ✨
Organic Intellectuals Series | Educational and Developmental Psychologist
Belonging shapes how people learn, connect, and participate in schools and society. Yet many lived experiences of inclusion and exclusion never make it into formal research.
Our upcoming issue, Belonging Blindspots, invites organic intellectuals (aka people whose knowledge comes from lived, community, and practice-based experience) to share their perspectives in their own voice.
This is not traditional research. There’s no academic referencing and only light-touch editing, so contributors can write authentically and centre what they know from lived experience.
📌 Expressions of Interest close Saturday 31 January 2026
🔗 Find out more about how to submit via the link in bio
Because belonging is built where research can’t always reach.
12/12/2025
📢 Call for Submissions – Belonging Blindspots
We’re inviting lived-experience voices to shape a special issue of our Educational and Developmental Psychologist Journal.
If you’re a young person, educator, community leader, First Nations contributor, migrant, or anyone who has lived the realities of belonging or belonging disruption…we want to hear from you!
While regulations can set boundaries, they cannot replace the resilience young people need to manage the pressures and risks of social media. As Australia moves toward new social media restrictions, Wayne Holdsworth reminds us that real safety comes from helping young people build the skills, insight and confidence to navigate the online world.
In our next clip, Wayne shares how his lived experience shapes the practical strategies he uses with students, families and schools to strengthen digital resilience in meaningful and realistic ways.
Listen to Subject for Change wherever you get your podcasts.
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Australian Psychological Society College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists
What is Educational and Developmental Psychology?
Educational and Developmental Psychology is concerned with wellbeing across the lifespan, in particular, the development and learning of people throughout their lives. To this end, Educational and Developmental Psychologists work in a wide range of research and practice settings and may have one of many different titles, such as school psychologist, guidance officer, disability services officer, child and adolescent counsellor, and geropsychologist. Within these settings, Educational and Developmental Psychologists may work with individuals, couples, groups, organisations, or systems. In educational settings, Educational and Developmental Psychologists are centrally placed to identify and assist people with mental health and other psychological issues including learning difficulties. Wherever possible, early identification and intervention is essential for the treatment of mental health disorders.
Skills of Educational and Developmental Psychologists
Educational and Developmental Psychologists have knowledge and skills for evidence based practice in the following areas:
Assessing developmental, learning and behavioural difficulties throughout the lifespan
Diagnosing disabilities and disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders
Differential diagnosis
Identifying and using evidence-based interventions
Counselling
Consulting with individuals and groups
Designing training programs
Evaluating programs and interventions
Designing and implementing professional development programs
Case management and liaising with other specialists
Writing reports for multiple audiences (e.g., parents, teachers, and other professionals)
Psychological consultancy and professional learning
Areas of Expertise - Across the Lifespan
Early childhood
Parents or professionals (e.g., GPs, Paediatricians, Child Health Nurses, and Child Care Centre staff) may refer a child to an Educational and Developmental Psychologist for the following reasons:
Concerns about a child’s cognitive, behavioural, or emotional development
Assessment of a developmental delay
Assessment of specific disabilities (e.g., Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorders)
Assistance with feeding, sleeping or behaviour problems
Infant mental health problems (e.g., anxiety and disordered attachment)
Managing a child's difficult temperament
Assistance with attachment issues, or with ‘goodness of fit’ between parent and child
Parenting issues
Sibling rivalry within the family
Assessment of school readiness
Assistance with treatment planning and early-intervention programs
School years
Parents, teachers or other professionals (or children themselves) may seek assistance for the following reasons:
Problems with the transition to school, or from one phase of education to another
Separation anxiety or school avoidance
Psychoeducational assessment
Assessment, diagnosis and treatment of learning difficulties and disorders (e.g., Dyslexia)
Poor peer-relationships
Behaviour problems and disorders (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Specialist behaviour management planning
Low self esteem
Well-being issues
Mental health problems (e.g., mood disorders)
Assessment of giftedness
Family relationship issues
Physical or sexual abuse
Assistance with treatment planning and specialist support
Whole school consultancy or intervention (e.g., social-emotional learning programs and critical incident intervention)
Adolescence
Adolescents, their parents, or others concerned with their welfare may seek help to deal with:
Conflict between the adolescent and parents
Friendship issues
Peer pressure
Behaviour problems
Sexuality issues
Disability issues
Identity issues and the transition to adulthood
Mental health problems
Drug and alcohol problems
Career guidance
Adjustment and transition issues
School to work transition
Whole school community issues
Adulthood
Individuals, their partners or employers may seek assistance with:
Relationship problems
Divorce/separation
Parenting and child-rearing
Adoption issues
Mid-life concerns
Career restructuring
Work stress
Education and training in the workplace
Later adulthood
Elderly people or their adult children may seek information or assistance with:
