The Future of Educational Psychology: Between Vision and Dystopia

This study examined trends in the future development of educational psychology using a mixed-methods approach. First, a scoping review identified articles containing explicit statements about the future of educational psychology, from which categories of anticipated developments were derived. Second, experts in educational psychology completed an online survey with open-ended questions on expectations, hopes, and best- and worst-case scenarios for the field’s future, and rated 84 statements—derived from the scoping review—on their perceived probability of occurring. ChatGPT completed the same survey. Articles from the scoping review and experts’ open-ended responses were analyzed using natural language processing techniques (e.g., sentiment analysis, word clouds) alongside qualitative categorization.The findings revealed a wide range of predictions, spanning from utopian to dystopian scenarios. Utopian visions emphasized interdisciplinary, multimethod, and evidence-based research with strong societal and political impact, leveraging advanced technologies to support personalized learning as well as mental health and social-emotional development. Dystopian scenarios expressed concern that educational psychology and quality education could become marginalized, politically constrained, inaccessible to many learners, or replaced by automated systems. Experts also identified concrete action points aimed at fostering desirable developments and preventing unfavorable futures.