Book excerpt: First published in 1978, Reconstructing Educational Psychology presents a new look at topics of central social concern such as children’s rights, the community approach to children’s problems, the inutility of traditional concepts of intelligence and personality, the interactionist approach to the concept of ‘deviant’ behaviour and the invalidity of psychiatric concepts of ‘maladjustment’. New ideas are the core of the book. It begins with historical and personal accounts of the origin and the nature of the situation of educational psychology. It spells out the way in which new thinking determines new practice, and the extent to which progress has been made. The book will be of interest to teachers, psychologists as well as to students of pedagogy and psychology.