Thoughtful Schools

The CASSE Peaceful Schools Project adopts a psychoanalytic approach to working with schools to create cultural change that increases both levels of safety and support within schools and improves outcomes.

In contrast there are a plethora of school-based programs designed to address issues and outcomes with a focus limited to the overt behavior that compromises whole school well-being (Twemlow & Sacco, 2008). Schools turn to anti-bullying programs, restorative practice, social skills programs to name just a few. All these programs to a varying degree address overt behavior in a prescribed manner. The program implementation is guided by a step-by-step process culminating in a one size fits all approach. Interestingly in other contexts perhaps less stressful, schools are crystal clear about their unique individual nature. No two schools are the same and this is taken into account and given due consideration.

Schools subscribe to a program that promises to address the emerging or persistent issues they wish to eradicate with an enormous amount of goodwill and energy. What goes wrong?

Why are schools not thinking and thinking deeply about the issues and outcomes that compromise a sense of safety, support and optimal learning conditions? There is often little or no investigation into these issues and outcomes beyond the presenting symptoms. The CASSE Peaceful Schools Project has found that a school wishing to create cultural change that avoids considering the unconscious life of the school fails to achieve the desired outcome. The school looks outside of itself to the plethora of programs on offer for the solution rather than reflecting on their individual internal system. Ownership of the program is often flawed right from the beginning and the implementation at worst is tokenistic.

A psychoanalytic approach encourages exploring the unconscious influences and discussing the “undiscussables,” what cannot be stated or named. Sometimes the nature of professional relationships,