ABSTRACT
This chapter examines children's behaviour through an alternative, psychodynamic and relational lens, largely drawing on psychoanalysis attachment theory and Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT). Sigmund Freud is considered the ‘father of psychoanalysis’, and some argue that his work permanently changed our understanding of the human psyche. In a psychodynamic focus on children’s behaviour, Freud’s emphasis on emotional expression as opposed to repression is important. A psychoanalytic explanation of a child’s misbehaviour in an educational setting would be that some unacknowledged stress, pain or trauma is being channelled into negative behaviour. Attachment theory is heavily influenced by psychoanalysis, and its central argument is that the bond or attachment formed by an infant with the primary care-giver forms the basis of all future relationships, and of psychological well-being for the rest of the individual’s life. It is important to note that educators’ own attachment styles and internal working models may also impact on the relationships they form with children.
