PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVES ON ADULT LEARNING GROUPS

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to stimulate thinking among adult educators about how unconscious factors and a participant’s internal world influence the adult learning group. The paper includes excerpts from conversations and interviews with three participants of the same learning group. A psychodynamic perspective was used to understand how the group process affected the learning of these three group participants. The use of a psychodynamic orientation includes the belief that the unique reality of each group member is influenced by temperament, life experience, family of origin, and unconscious processes. Despite the challenges and the seriousness of questions that have been raised by critics of psychoanalysis, it offers a way to look at adult learning which considers multiple perspectives and it recognizes areas that are beyond our conscious awareness yet affect our behavior and learning.