A-Level Psychology Teachers: Who Are They and What Do They Think about Psychology as a Subject and a Discipline?

A-level psychology teachers (N=109) responded to a questionnaire asking about their academic background, their experience of and views about A-level psychology. Teachers were also asked about the scientific status of psychology as a discipline and about the nature of science in general. Most respondents thought that the A-level course provides students with good preparation for university but overall they tended to disagree that the A-level should be a pre-requisite for university study. A-level topic options taught least often (e.g. biological, cognitive) were amongst those previously identified as areas where incoming undergraduate students could be better prepared (Banister, 2003). Compared with previous research (Maras & Bradshaw, 2007) a greater proportion of psychology teachers thought psychology is a science but this was qualified by the belief that psychology is not as scientific as "harder sciences" such as physics or chemistry. (Contains 4 tables.)