PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: A LOOK AT THE CONTRIBUTIONSS OF ANNA FREUD, MELANIE KLEIN, ERIK H. ERIKSON, SUSAN ISAACS, BRUNO BETTELEHEIM, ~~C.M. FRIJLING-SCHREUDER AND ~UlRGARET RIBBLE BY Ann V. Dean ---_._---III. APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHODYN~~IC THEORY and choice of methods and IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION strategies. In a sense, they are channels through Particular theoretical beliefs have in the which to navigate toward past led to particular educational practices. the selected educational One of the major forces is psychology--the goals. 1 psychoanalytic--made a penetrating impact on knowledge of child development and A psychodynamic theory may serve as a frame' child behavior. work for "••• consistency with a specific theoretical perspective rather than The psychoanalytic theory sterruning from the spec.ification by a particular theory.il2 work of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) saw the individual as governed by irrational In this paper I will examine the implica­ impulses as she/he passed through a series tions of psychodynamic theory for teaching of psychosexual stages (Cowles, 1976). and learning in early childhood education. These stages were: The individual pioneering efforts of Anna Freud and Melanie Klein in understand­ . the oral period ing childhood neurosis and ill developing the anal period child analysis and "play therapylf will be . the phallic or oedipal period described and compared. Anna Freud's f-\':e la.tency period strong early convictions of the need for a psychoanalytic pedagogy and later dis­ HO'., ., c.dId passed through these stages illusionment will be discussed. Basic dete). ined to a large degree how healthy psychoanalytic terms such as lithe uncon­ or unhealthy an adult he became. Freudian scious." "Id, Ego, Superego," "trans­ theory emphasized unconscious motivation, ference" etc. will be broadly defined to the beginnings of sexual development, the illuminate early psychoanalytic theory. A inevitable conflicts between social psychohistorical perspective on initial expectations and spontaneous behavior attempts to create a psychoanalytic pedagogy and the impact of emotions on behavior. in Europe will be synthesized and current pre-school developmental programs in North In the 1920's there was an attempt to America described, programs which draw create psychoanalytic pedagogy utilizing from psychodynamic theory. The theories theory from Freudian child-analysis. of Eric H. Erikson, Susan Isaacs, Psychodynamic. theory was to be translated Bruno Bettelheim, E. C.1-1. Frij ling·-Schreuder, directly into educational goals and and Margaret Ribble will be presented. practices. But as Biber (1977) points out: In conclusion some criticisms of the psychodynamic theories' impact on education ... psychological theories do not will be aired. of therc elves specify what the immediate or ultimate Psychodynamic learning theory is based on purposes of education sh.all the premise that not all learning or be. They do have an important motivation is conscious. screening influence on curriculum building in its Traditional conceptions of broadest sense as well as on how human beings think and decisions about priorities learn have started from a of experimental content natural but incorrect and 34 misleading assumption that The child who has faith in we think and learn himself believes in consciously. This is not himself. He has convic­ true. Conscious pro­ tions which are an cesses are important integral part of him. He not for thinking but makes decisions for for sampling, checking, himself and carries them reality testing, out. He expresses correcting, ruminating, himself freely and fully and cOIT@unicating. and does not fear that he Even the intake of bits will be condemned for his of information, TJ1hether feelings or his beliefs. from the source or from The child who feels faith the outer world, is knows what he wants to do, predominantly pre­ wha.t he can do. and ,,'hat conscious. It he will do. He trusts his consists largely of m'ln feelings. 4 an incessant subliminal bombardment which goes To look more clearly at the roots of OIL unc.easin.gly -\~hether psychodynamic theory one must become we are aVJake or acquainted vlith its language. Although the asleep .•. But 'whether use of the terminology of psychoanalytic the input is largely theory has been fairly popularized since the from distance and turn of the century, the follOWing terms surface receptors (as broadly defined in a rough-and-ready fashion in the normal "laking by Nancy Proctor-Gregg. translator or state) or predominantly Anna Freud i s The Psych~ana~yti~[:..!:ea.!=me..E~~~.~f. iraTI1 t'v'ithi:n. tIle body ~~hi)_drenj; \0"111 serve as explana.tioIlS which (as in sleep), the may make future references in th:Ls paper IIlaj or in.pu. t is alvlays to psychoanalytic theory more intelligible. subliminal", The con- scious component is "The unconscious" - the highly never more than a active self within us of which fragment of the total we are not directly aware. input. This neglected (Some of its activities are but psychophysiological revealed in dreaming or in fact is of major particular aljlTal<.ened states .. ) significance and is relevant to all "Repression" - the process educational processes. 3 applied to impulses, notions, etc" uH'welcome to our Although the psychoanalytic position does conscious selves, which we not deal directly with classroom teaching mean to~ but cannot discard; and learning, it can be useful, as a repression throws them into theory of behavior, in deepening our the unconscious--making understanding of the unconscious the material unconscious. motivati.ons of all children, their needs, There is no conscious the particular needs of "disturbed" memory of this process. children and our awareness of the role of adults in the children's development. "Id, Ego, Super-ego" - the unconscious, the conscious The nc:h.ild--ceD.tered H focus I:t\'hic.h resulted arld the nco~lsc.iencen fror;l the psyellodyriaInic positiorl in Early functions of self - (internal Childhood Education is not mainly concerned judge of self created from with techniques and skills but rather with internalized requirements tn.e 'ki11d of relationship W11ic}1 enables and ideals to which the children to grow emotionally and to gEin self at some period has faith in themselves as feeling individuals. given allegiance; usually 35 parents--whether consciously From 1920-1930 llpsychoanalytic pedagogyll or child's imagination.) thrived among the continental psychoanaly­ tic community. "Transference" - an emotional attitude assumed Freud vlritES in ~n Autobiograp0-ical Study by client, under the that although he had little to do with the direction of unconscious direct application of psychoanalysis to in analysis towards education, B ••• analytic discoveries about analyst; a projected the sexual life and mental development of overlay created by one children should attract the attention of person towards another educators and make them see their problems person of importance in in a new light. 117 her/his life .. In Freud's fundamental book on child "Latency period" - a time developmen~ Three Essays On the Theory of usually beginning about Sexuality, his theories of infantile the fifth year of a sexuality, developmental stages and signifi­ child's life and lasting cance of early childhood experiences lay until puberty; the child's the groundwork for the psychoanalytic highly active and highly pedagogy of early childhood. varied sexual impulses become largely latent; Although Freud was cautious about making the energy supplying them direct proposals regarding education before is to a great extend sufficient research had been done to diverted. understand the child, his work of the analysiE of a c.hild--"A Phobia in a Five Year Old Boy,' "Oedipus complex" - a way the famous little Hans case, confirms Freud's of denoting the whole set speculations regarding !l... the i.mportance of feelings attached to of early childhood, the existence of infan-· the natural impulses of tile sexuality, the role of the parents in all children to crave for the aetiology of neurosis, and the the::a­ "'.xelusive love, usually peutie effects of sexual enlightment. 118 from a parent of the Oppl'~te sex. Freud felt his findings on the impo1:tance of human instincts and the need for conserving "Analysis" - a treatment rather than supressing the instinctual to alleviate symptoms and deserved to be regarded by educators as an enable the mitigation of invaluable guide in their conduct toward the impact of the superego, children. On the question of what sort of thereby lessening anxiety early education was best, harsh or lenient associated with instinctual Freud wavered. His main thrust was education forces, and freeing the that called upon the findings of psycho­ individual so that psychic analysis in order to understand development energy flows freely. and avoid neurosis. "'W:.iatever 1;\fe can expect in the way of prophylaxis against neurosis The following description of the historical in the individual lies in the hands of a connection between psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically enlightened education,,,g education will serve as an introduction to Freud said. the later contributions of particular psychoanalysts in educating the young With the emergence of a branch of applied child, and in understanding psychodyna­ psychoanalysis--child analysis--the fusion of mically-based child development theory. psychoanalysis and education occu.rred. Child analysis served as a bridge between