Which A Level Psychology Textbook Should I Buy?

The discussion around textbooks comes up a lot on the AQA A Level Psychology Teacher Community on Facebook, and I while my opinions are obviously biased, having authored the two revision and exam companions (the Cat and Dog) books with OUP and writing for tutor2u, I’ll present them, keeping Teaching & Learning and students at the forefront of what I say.

In my opinion a teacher should have every one of the main textbooks, as each book serves a slightly different purpose. I have listed the main books below in MY preferred order, and please remember this is simply my opinion. Many of my colleagues who teach at different institutions disagree with me and this blog is simply to promote discussion around a very important issue, especially as budgets are continually getting squeezed and spending your department budget on the ‘right’ resources is important.

Also, I think the question of which book to buy and then purchasing class-sets is a misguided one and a whole separate discussion. I have never provided my students with a published textbook or revision guide, other than the ones I created myself. The reason for this is simple: I wanted my students to revise the content I provided them with in my lessons, and not be inundated with questions about content I’ve not covered or evaluation points they don’t understand.

Furthermore, the majority of printed textbooks are at a massive disadvantage. Most, if not all of the major text books were produced when the specifications were initially launched. The approved textbooks are unable to update their content to reflect exam performance each year, nor are they allowed to over-emphasise exam preparation at the expense of content. Furthermore, approved texts are not permitted to include: specific ‘examiner insights’ or ‘commentary’; ideas on how to achieve ‘top marks’; revision tips; references to what may or may not come up in the exam, etc. That being said, I must say that approval is a rigorous process to ensure that a textbook provides ‘good support for the specification’; however, it is something that I have always taken with a  ‘pinch of salt’.

• The Hodder (Lawton/Willard - Mask) is my favourite of the published books; however, I think it better as a teacher guide rather than a student one. I’ll explain that point in a moment. I particularly like the depth, coverage and the comprehensive list of research that accompanies each topic in the specification. Furthermore, the Year 2 book has a particularly impressive Issues and Debates chapter with clear links to other Year 2 topics, which is very useful. Why do I call this book a ‘teacher guide’? Because the evaluations are, in some places, brief and therefore a student would need to expand/develop the points themselves, something which many students struggle to do. However, as a teacher, this is ideal as we can select the points that we want to teach, and develop those with our students. 
• The OUP (Cardwell – Dog/Cat) book provides excellent overall coverage and enough depth (in my opinion) for the most able students. In some places the book has arguably too much depth; however, I would rather have too much. Furthermore, the layout of the book is very user-friendly, with each point in the specification occupying a double page spread.
• The OUP (Green - Brain) book provides good coverage of certain topics, in particular, biopsychology; however, by the time I got to this book, I had enough information from the others to inform my own teaching. It’s a very user-friendly book from a student point of view, and is a good ‘go to’ book for certain topics.
• The Illuminate (Flanagan - Green/Pink Haired Girl) is one of the most popular A Level texts and is a very user-friendly book from a student point of view. The book is visually appealing and has a similar layout to the OUP book; each point in the specification occupies a double page spread. However, in stark contrast to OUP, I feel that it lacks depth in some places and is catering for a middle range spectrum of grades which is why this book appears further down my list.
• The Psychology Press (Eysenck) book provides enough depth for an undergraduate (in my opinion) and is a good book if I want to check something in more detail. However, as far as I am aware, Eysenck has only produced a Year 1 book and as yet there is no Year 2 book.

Finally, to throw a curveball into the mix, check out the sample of our new topic companions. It has at least three major advantages for teachers and is exactly what I would provide my students with. This being said, I only gave my students a copy of these companions after I had finished teaching a particular topic and NOT before. The three major benefits in my opinion are:

1.  It is updated yearly, and rather than providing 5/6 sample questions, we list all of the possible questions that have come up in every topic, along with exam hints and tips on how to avoid common pitfalls. A new/experienced teacher will never need to refer to an examiner report again!
2. It is the ONLY guide that embeds issues and debates into every section of every topic. This is something that I feel is exceptionally important in the new linear A-Levels and therefore this is the only text that takes a truly linear and synoptic approach.
3. The evaluation is written fully. There will be no questions/queries on how to turn a two sentence evaluation point into a full burger/PEEL paragraph, as we’ve done the work for you.

As I outlined earlier, the views in this blog are entirely my own; however, I feel that the discussion around textbooks is an important one. I strongly urge teachers to have a copy of every textbook so that they can compare the printed textbooks with the digital companions to make an informed decision that’s best for them and their students.