Abstract:
This paper draws on the relational school of psychoanalysis in order to think about childhood play as an ethical practice of ‘empathic listening’ (Rogers, 1975). The relational school of psychoanalysis is used to re-imagine the pedagogical potential of free play and the consequences of learning with relational objects. I draw on empirical research findings from an ethnographic research study on Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) in Canada. The national program encourages outdoor play in elementary public schools. I also draw on John Bowlby’s (1988) psychoanalytic ‘attachment theory’ and Donald Winnicott’s (1971) ‘object relations’ to explore the impact of OPAL on the formation of child subjectivity, and further speculate how the child’s ‘unconscious’ (Freud, 1920) might be factored into the play process. In order to analyze the above mentioned complex angles of play, I focus on the visual images (photography and video) recorded during the research study. Videos were recorded by researcher, teacher, and children. I use the images collected during the study to speculate how the child’s unconscious is entangled in play practices, and further argue that the unconscious must be addressed in pedagogical practices in order to account for the unconscious elements of both teacher and student. Research findings show that the national program (i.e., OPAL) prompted teachers to rethink their supervisory role and relationship with play. In order to support OPAL practices teachers adopted an ‘empathic’ role and thus felt that they needed to “let go” and/or deeply listen to how children played, and the objects they became ‘attached’ to. Children in turn felt “free” during play and described their play practice as that which allowed more “risky” behaviour and “imagination”. This paper is significant as it re-imagines play as a complex practice that takes into consideration conscious and unconscious elements of the child. In thinking about the child’s unconscious, this paper brings to light the often unaddressed and/or marginalized unconscious that is very much implicated in teaching and learning.ReferencesBowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development.vNew York, NY: Basic Books. Freud, S. (1920). A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis. New York, NY: G. Stanley Hall.Rogers, C. (1975). Empathic: An unappreciated way of being. The Counselling Psychologist, 5(2), 2-10. Winnicott, D.W. (1971). Playing and Reality. London, UK: Routledge.