Surreal illustration of a child surrounded by floating books and letters, symbolizing the desire to learn.

Unlock Your Child's Potential: How Psychoanalysis Can Transform Learning

Reese Marlowe in Mind & Education August 2025 • 3 min read.

"Dive into the psychoanalytic perspective on reading and writing, and discover how to nurture a child's desire to learn."

The field of education is constantly evolving, seeking new ways to understand and support children's learning journeys. While traditional methods often focus on technical skills and standardized assessments, psychoanalysis offers a unique lens through which to view the learning process. This perspective emphasizes the importance of desire, unconscious motivations, and the child's individual experience in shaping their educational outcomes.

Psychoanalysis, particularly the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, provides valuable insights into the emotional and psychological factors that influence a child's ability to learn. By understanding these underlying dynamics, parents and educators can create more supportive and effective learning environments.

Children commonly experience anxiety when faced with the demands of learning. Schools, focused on maintaining schedules and achieving benchmarks, can inadvertently create a conflicting environment for young learners. Therefore, it’s essential to address questions such as: How can we foster a child's desire to learn? What does learning represent from a psychoanalytic perspective? How do children integrate into the learning process, and what role does desire play?

The Role of Desire in Learning

Surreal illustration of a child surrounded by floating books and letters, symbolizing the desire to learn.

Jacques Lacan's theories on the subject and desire form the foundation for understanding these concepts. Lacan views the 'subject' as a concept derived from the idea of a theme, and desire as a cause in the constitution of the subject. From Lacan's viewpoint, psychoanalysis helps us understand how a subject is formed and the dynamics it develops through interactions with others via language.

Babies learn to speak through family interactions, by listening to their mother's conversations and responding to them. However, the desire to speak isn't just about external factors like letters and words; it's not materially present in others. So, how does the desire to learn truly exist?

Understand the subjective experience of learning.
Recognize the impact of early relationships on a child's desire to learn.
Foster a supportive environment that encourages curiosity and exploration.

It's crucial to first consider subjectivity as a product of human relationships, with language as its output. Speech disrupts fixed perceptual images and invites individuals to navigate the regulated paths of their native language. This language, existing before a child's birth, shapes their existence with unique sounds and rhythms. From birth, a child is immersed in this symbolic realm, their entry marked by a rupture when they begin to speak. This rupture involves moving away from the infant’s initial sense of oneness with their primary caregiver.

Conclusion: Fostering a Lifelong Love of Learning

By integrating psychoanalytic insights into our understanding of child development and education, we can create environments that foster a genuine love of learning. Recognizing the importance of desire, addressing unconscious anxieties, and promoting symbolic expression are all crucial steps in unlocking a child's full potential. This approach not only enhances academic achievement but also cultivates a deeper sense of self-awareness and emotional well-being.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1590/s1516-14982017001008, Alternate LINK

Title: O Desejo E A Aprendizagem Da Leitura E Da Escrita

Subject: Psychiatry and Mental health

Journal: Ágora: Estudos em Teoria Psicanalítica

Publisher: FapUNIFESP (SciELO)

Authors: Martha Marlene Wankler Hoppe, Maria Nestrovsky Folberg

Published: 2017-03-01

Everything You Need To Know

How does psychoanalysis, particularly the ideas from Freud and Lacan, differ from traditional educational approaches in understanding a child's learning process?

Psychoanalysis, drawing from the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, offers a unique perspective by emphasizing the emotional and psychological factors that influence a child's ability to learn. It suggests that understanding unconscious motivations and the child's individual experiences is crucial for creating effective learning environments. This approach contrasts with traditional methods that primarily focus on technical skills and standardized assessments.

According to Jacques Lacan, what are 'subject' and 'desire,' and how do these concepts influence our understanding of a child's learning journey from a psychoanalytic perspective?

Jacques Lacan's work frames the 'subject' as a concept derived from a central theme and 'desire' as the driving force in forming the subject. Psychoanalysis, from Lacan's viewpoint, helps in understanding the formation of a subject and the dynamics they develop through linguistic interactions with others. This perspective moves beyond seeing learning as merely acquiring skills, highlighting the role of language and relationships in shaping a child's desire to learn.

In psychoanalysis, how is a child's subjectivity developed, and what role does language play in shaping their perception and engagement with the learning environment?

A child's subjectivity, according to psychoanalytic thought, is a product of human relationships, expressed through language. Language disrupts fixed perceptions and guides individuals through established linguistic pathways. The sounds and rhythms of their native tongue pre-exist the child, shaping their existence and marking their entry into a symbolic realm when they begin to speak. This transition involves a separation from the initial sense of unity with their primary caregiver, emphasizing the relational and symbolic aspects of learning.

What are the implications of integrating psychoanalytic insights, such as recognizing desire and addressing anxieties, into educational practices for fostering a lifelong love of learning?

Integrating psychoanalytic insights emphasizes recognizing the importance of desire, addressing unconscious anxieties, and promoting symbolic expression. Creating environments that cater to these elements enhances academic achievement and cultivates self-awareness and emotional well-being. Neglecting these aspects may result in a learning environment that doesn't fully resonate with the child's internal motivations and emotional needs, potentially hindering their overall development.

How does the learning environment, especially the structured nature of schools, potentially induce anxiety in children, and how can psychoanalytic principles help in mitigating these anxieties?

Anxiety in learning often stems from the conflict between the child's internal desires and the external demands of schools. Schools, focused on schedules and benchmarks, can create pressure that undermines a child's natural curiosity. Addressing this involves understanding the subjective experience of learning, recognizing the impact of early relationships on a child's desire to learn, and fostering a supportive environment that encourages curiosity and exploration. Ignoring these aspects can lead to increased anxiety and a diminished love for learning.