ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at ways in which the overall educational experience and presents the educational cycle, has a subtle but significant impact on the mind of the student. It shows how the internal educational experience of the student affects and is affected by the stages a student goes through during the academic process. The way in which the educational cycle influences the student has its parallels in the way the stages of human development subtly affect an individual's emotions. In popular psychology the impact of certain events on the emotional life of an individual is well understood. In many ways the experience of being a student is a highly stressful and complicated one. As well as being an intellectual activity, the process of learning, producing written work and being assessed is a highly emotional experience. Finally, it presents another important influence, that of the wider social and political context in which the student is studying.
