THE EDUCATIONAL ROLE OF THE FAMILY

Summary

This book presents a psychoanalytic model for understanding the educational role of the family and its relationship with the wider community. Meltzer and Harris view learning as a psychological process that depends not only on teaching but also on the emotional relationships within the family. They explore how parents, children, schools, and the wider social environment interact and influence the development of the individual.

The authors combine psychoanalytic ideas about learning, emotional development, and mental functioning with an ecological view of the family and community. They emphasize that the family provides an important emotional environment in which children develop their capacity to think, learn, form relationships, and understand themselves. The book also considers the relationship between families and schools and how these systems can work together to support children’s development. Overall, it presents education as a shared psychological and social process rather than simply the transmission of knowledge.