ABSTRACT
In this chapter we come to consider that just as we have seen that behaviour has meaning, so do the images expressed in play, stories and the arts.
Where growth and development appear to be stuck, or to be regressing, there is a natural urge to will development forward. It is as if we might want to say, ‘If only his or her ego could be strong enough, then all would be well.’ But as Donnington (1963:149) says, ‘it is not within the direct power of the ego to bring about transformation and renewal; the most the ego can do is open itself to the process’. This point that development cannot necessarily be willed is a crucial piece of understanding. However effective ego-provision is, some areas of growth emerge from deeper levels within the human psyche. When we work with making images, for example in play, story making, painting and sculpture, we often work with elements of the unconscious. Through using the symbols of metaphor and image, which are expressions of unconscious aspects of psyche, we are able to make new connections in our inner worlds, and from within find sources of new possibility. In psychotherapy one might endeavour to articulate the meanings of such symbols. In educational settings-particularly through the arts and English curricula-work with image provides opportunities for children to express inner, subjective meanings symbolically through metaphor, and to explore and reformulate these meanings by working within the metaphor. Teachers of the arts and English curricula are required to teach technique. But within these subject areas in particular, teachers can provide important opportunities for growth through using image, by being aware of the metaphorical
dimensions of such work, and by integrating an understanding of these dimensions into their broad curricular role. Because art activities encourage thoughtful perception and depth of emotional experience, Mary Warnock (1977) suggests that more arts in the curriculum would probably be of greater social and educational value than pastoral or counselling services.
