Article
The Role of the School in the Libidinal Development of the Child
Die Rolle der Schule in der libidinösen Entwicklung des Kindes
In this paper, published in 1923 in the issue of the Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse marking Sándor Ferenczi's fiftieth birthday, Melanie Klein draws on material from her analyses of children to show that school carries sexual, symbolic meanings for the child. The school itself, the teacher, and school tasks such as reading, writing and arithmetic are each invested with such meanings. It follows, in her account, that a child's inhibitions and failures at school often arise from the anxiety and guilt attached to those meanings. The paper appeared in English in 1924 in the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis as "The Rôle of the School in the Libidinal Development of the Child".
Main ideas
- School, the teacher and school tasks such as reading, writing and arithmetic carry sexual, symbolic meanings for the child.
- Inhibitions and failures at school often stem from anxiety and guilt over those meanings.
- The argument rests on clinical material from the analysis of children.