INTRODUCTION

1. Internationalization in psychology.

Today international conferences, congresses, workshops, cross-national research teams have come to play an integral role in the professional like of psychologists in many countries and regions of the world. Currently more information than ever before is available about psychology from different countries. International associations, journals, and conferences supply this information for psychology researchers and practitioners, much less for psychology teachers.

2. Networking and information provision in the teaching of psychology.

Psychologists are different in their research interests: experimental psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, personality, individual differences, statistics, research methods, and numerous other specific areas are special interests for some. Despite our diverse research interests, we have a lot in common. Many of us teach in universities, colleges, institutes, or other schools. Most of us are teachers in one way or another way. The conference is designed for teachers of psychology in all educational settings, including high schools, undergraduate colleges, and graduate programs.

During the last two decades, the interest to study the teaching of psychology has been growing rapidly in many countries, on different continents. It has been displayed
in societies and divisions within psychological organizations specifically dedicated to the field of teaching and learning psychology;
in the establishment of institutions supporting psychology teaching;
in the establishment of special journals devoted to teaching and learning of psychology;
in the organization of special national conferences and meetings devoted to the field of teaching and learning psychology:

National or regional associations in some countries hold conferences on teaching of psychology on a regular basis, and others do occasionally. But where can we share our knowledge and experiences in an international forum? The answer is at international conferences on the teaching of psychology.

3. History of the international teaching conference in psychology.

Interest in the internationalization of psychological knowledge has increased dramatically in recent years, not only in research but also in the teaching of psychology. There are a number of compelling arguments for generating a greater understanding and appreciation of the nature of undergraduate and graduate psychology and of how it is taught around the world. It is time to pay more attention to the field of psychology teaching, exchange the ideas regarding this topic internationally. The success of the first two international conferences on psychology education and teaching attests to this need.

The First International Conference on Psychology Education was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2002. It provided a compelling evidence of this. It was an outstanding event that attracted about 100 representatives from 20 countries. We learned a lot about how psychology is taught around the globe.

Many attendees at the first conference suggested that similar conferences on a regular basis would be useful, so the Second Conference on Psychology Education was held in Foz de Iguacu, Brazil, in 2005.

On behalf of the ICTP 2008 International Advisory, Program and Local Organizing Committees, I welcome you to the Third International Conference on the Teaching of Psychology (ICTP-2008), Saint Petersburg, Russia. We have got the contributions on the wide range of topics covering broad aspects of psychology curriculum, teaching and learning psychology, and specific challenges of psychology education in the 21st Century from a really global perspective. I believe this conference will be as productive as the previous ones.

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