Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

The Buddha View 415
relying heavily on laboratory experiments and on quantification. That is, being bound to the
scientific was probably seen as essential for a field striving to raise its status from that of a trade
taught to high school graduates in what were referred to as normal schools, to that of a full-fledged
academic field of study in colleges and universities. In fact, the legitimacy of teacher preparation
programs was questioned in academic circles because the ways normal schools structured their
courses were grounded experientially rather than scientifically. Educational psychology courses
were developed with the hope of upgrading the status of teacher education by providing a scientific
means for infusing scholarship and rigor into professional programs.
Stepping back to reflect on the historical conditions that contextualized the growth and development
of the field may lead to the conclusion that current disciplinary commitments reflect the
ways that the profession has responded to the need to establish itself as a legitimate and useful
discipline. Now that the field of educational psychology is established, it might profit from the
infusion of ideas that spur a consideration of new practices or perspectives. To this end, Buddhist
teachings on compassion will be used to push thinking about the scientific progress of educational
psychology. A consideration of compassion is important because when Thorndike stepped into
a laboratory to study learning, he began the long tradition of treating children, teachers, parents,
and schools as data sources.
Reviewing Educational Psychology’s Scientific Progress
The word compassion has been defined by the Dalai Lama as the wish that others be free
of suffering. Cultivating mindfulness is important to furthering our ability to be compassionate,
because being fully present or mentally aware affords opportunities to discern the presence of
suffering in others as well as some of the ways in which our impulses are shielding us from
having to confront or address that suffering. Moreover, mindfulness helps clarify the relationship
between our own self-interests and the suffering or happiness experienced by others. For example,
I might be able to buy a very inexpensive taco from a fast-food restaurant, but it is important to
reckon with the fact that the people picking the tomatoes for that taco are being exploited as a
result. If compassion is about caring so deeply about others that we take responsibility for and
do everything in our power to ease their suffering, then we might decide that a more wholesome
response is to forego the taco. Essentially, coupling compassion with mindfulness is important
because compassion challenges us to look beyond our own self-interests and to understand the
ways in which lives are interconnected.
Unfortunately, it is necessary to cultivate compassion, because although we tend to form close
attachments to those near to us, we have to learn how to have compassion for people outside our
immediate circles. As the Dalai Lama has explained, our compassion toward strangers or mere
acquaintances is limited, partial, prejudicial, and predicated upon how close we feel to them. With
this in mind, it is interesting to consider the ramifications of the practice of maintaining distance
between researcher and researched. Such distance can be problematic, because it allows the
researcher to remain unaware and hence unconcerned by such aspects of lives as joys, triumphs,
agony, or fear. This is beneficial if one desires to avoid being held accountable for responding
compassionately. Furthermore, maintaining distance dilutes any sense of agency or responsibility,
decreases the likelihood of alliances being formed, and can suppress the moral imagination or
a consideration of what could be. This allows researchers to have their research needs met by
taking what they want from the subjects of their studies, with little or no dialogue or interaction,
and then leave fulfilled while the subject leaves unfulfilled and perhaps even feeling used. The
suggestion is not to discontinue involving people in research. Rather, working from a desire to
research compassionately one may decide to bridge the usual distance by engaging the researched