The unconscious at work: how projection shows up in schools
I’d like to argue that psychoanalytic thinking can bring insight when working in schools, especially in parts of teaching life we find puzzling, worrying or particularly emotional. In understanding unconscious dynamics between pupils or within staff teams, it can help us see what’s really going on underneath the surface. Here, I explore some common ways in which the process of projection can show up in schools. What is projection? Projection is an unconscious process – mea
5 min read
Understanding our disadvantaged pupils’ needs
In order to have a successful approach to securing strong outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, it is important for schools first to consider what we mean by disadvantage. ‘What do you do for your disadvantaged pupils?’ is a question that can drive schools towards mechanistic approaches such as ‘We mark their books first’ rather than approaches with a strong evidence base. This is often because school leaders have not had sufficient time and space to consider what disadvantage
5 min read
Viewing lessons from the perspective of particular pupils to address educational disadvantage
Educational disadvantage is hard to think about. It is a horribly complex issue involving the intersection of socioeconomics, class,...
4 min read
