1. STRUCTURE OF THE
Can Education Be Therapeutic? PRESENTATION
An Exploration of the Therapeutic  Aim of the Presentation
Nature of Inclusive Education in  Research Questions
Classrooms with Diverse Learner  Background
Needs.  Wits – B. Ed honors Programme on
Ms. S’mangele Mayisela. Emotions
University of Witwatersrand,  Students view on the questions of
Johannesburg , South Africa therapy and education
S’mangele.Mayisela@wits.ac.za
 Therapeutic pedagogical practice as
used in the mainstream classroom with
reference to three examples.
 Conclusion
TEACHERS’ VIEWS ON TEACHERS VIEWS ON
THERAPEUTIC EDUCATION THERAPEUTIC EDUCATION
 The teachers who have an average of about 10years
 A part of class activity in the B. Ed teaching experience believed that education cannot
Honours, offered at the Wits School of therapeutic.
Education at Wits University, Issues in  Education is about giving knew knowledge and has
little to do healing and rehabilitation.
Primary Education which primarily  Therapists in a school should focus on learners
addresses issues of Emotions in therapeutic needs while they (teachers) focus on
Education, Prof Karin Murris was teaching and facilitating new knowledge.
observed working with her students on  These teachers have an experience of teaching in
schools with support specialist is on site, where
the topic of Therapy and Education. learners consult the specialist on an pull out system.
She posed the question to her students;  The students, who did not have teaching experience,
“Can education be therapeutic?” trained in post-apartheid era believed that education
can be therapeutic.
TEACHER REFLECTIONS AFTER TEACHER REFLECTIONS AFTER
THE SEMESTER THE SEMESTER
 Student 1: has no teaching experience, just
 Student 2: 10 years teaching experience
qualified as a teacher.
“... the topic that I am now researching in my
research project; is Therapy and Education. I “Education and therapy was quite an interesting
believe therapy involves the promotion of self thought processing for me. I have always
and I believe education supports the same looked at these two ideas as being separate
goal. At this point in the course I realised that yet interlinked. What I have found incredible
this course was made for me as it addresses to look back on as we progressed together as
the topics I am interested in. It had been so a group of people is that we all have different
interesting to learn how to teach a learner views on this matter and I find that it strongly
using different methods and different pertains to our age and the way we were
techniques. This course has confirmed my educated to become teachers”
opinion that an inclusive way of teaching is
the best way of teaching”

2. AIM OF THE PRESENTATION RESEARCH QUESTIONS
 Can education be therapeutic?
This paper seeks to explore the  What is meant by therapeutic
therapeutic nature of education by education?
discussing three therapeutic
 In which way can pedagogical
pedagogical practices as applied in
a mainstream inclusive classroom
practices have a therapeutic
with the purpose of educating and impact on learners?
addressing diverse learner needs.
THERAPY AND EDUCATION THERAPEUTIC EDUCATION
 Therapy – a medical term for treatment  Therapeutic Education refers to
of diagnosed physical and
psychological conditions
classroom education practices
 Education – concerns itself that enhance individual learners’
with the total development development through therapeutic
of an individual social interactions, curriculum
 The goals of therapy and
content, learning support
education – total
wellbeing of a
materials, teaching strategies
person and a healthy and safe learning
environment.
INCLUSIVE EDCATION – A SOUTH
AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE CASE STUDY
Apartheid Era – Traditional Post –Apartheid Era – Inclusive  1988. Gloria, 16years old, grade 8, mild cerebral
education Education palsy.
Racial, economic, ability, special Racial, economic, ability and special
need and segregation integration
 She is limping, her mouth and eyes twitch when she
Disability viewed as an objective Disability is viewed both as a
speaks, she speaks slower, her voice is squeaky but
and scientific construct medical and a social construct – audible when the listener listens attentively, she can
from Ecosystemiceducation
Outcomes based view.
Teacher and curriculum centred write but she is slower that the rest in her class, as
education compatible to inclusive education
her hand is shaking her writing is not so legible
Dual education system of “ordinary” Integrated system of both - with
and “special” education. focus on right of all learners  Average intellectual ability
Using a medical framework in Using social framework  New school, new environment, coming from primary
dealing with impairment and
difference
school.
The focus is on placement of Developing adaptive and supportive
learners into special needs strategies in regular classroom  Her class is on 2nd floor, takes time to reach there
12
but she usually early
 Her teachers are sensitive, are sending her to a
special school – even when she refuses.

3. THERAPY : A MEDICAL
CONCEPT?
 Does therapeutic education subscribe to
a Medical model of addressing diverse
needs in education?
 The Medical model as was used – it
describes impairment as disability,
disability is seen a objective and
scientific, meant exclusion from society
and economic activity, needing charity
and support.
 Medical model integrated with Social
model in an Ecosystemic approach –
creating a therapeutic system.
THERAPEUTIC CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES
CURRICULUM AS A
There is something I don’t know
THERAPEUTIC TOOL That I am supposed to know.
 Curriculum I don’t know what it is I don’t know
 Addressing fantasy and And yet I’m supposed to know,
 imagination And I feel I look stupid
If I seem both not to know it
through knowledge
and not know what is it I don’t know
acquisition Therefore, I pretend I know it.
 Created a point where fantasy This is nerve racking
and reality meet Since I don’t know what I must pretend to
 Prevents anxiety of not knowing as know.
depicted in Laing’s poem. Therefore, I pretend to know everything
Excerpt from ‘Knots’
quoted from
Stoll, Fink and Earl (2003)

4. Responses to the question: what is death?
DISCIPLINE, BEHAVIOUR
Pre-grade learners Grade 1 learners
5-6years 6-7years
MANAGEMENT AND CONTAINMENT
Your heart stops beating and you are Someone who is sleeping with eyes closed
 Containment – a psychoanalytic
unable to wake up
concept.
When you are shot with a gun When you disappear and they cannot find
you, you are dead  Winnicott’s view - containment as body
It means you are dead When someone has their eyes closed
and mind in unison, whereby from
When a person is unable to walk Sleeping person
infancy the dwelling of the psyche
Death means you have been murdered When someone has been murdered
remains in the child’s body.
When a person’s heart has stopped When someone has been hit by a car  From conception, skin is formed, womb,
Is to faint A person who can’t speak mother’s arms, blanket – all form limiting
It means a person cannot wake up A person who has been murdered membrane to contain the psyche.
When a person is bleeding and sleeping
 Later, family rules, social rules,
classroom rules used to contain and
embody the psyche.
DISCIPLINE, BEHAVIOUR
MANAGEMENT AND CONTAINMENT BIBLIO-THERAPY
Family and social rules
 To assist learners to deal with life
challenges that are emotionally
Mother’s arms and
blanket
charging, and abstract concepts and
moral and social justice concepts like
Mother’s womb
death, emotions, corruption, etc.
 Children’s books are therapeutic, due
Foetus and its membrane pictures which can used as projective
identification by learners.
 The author serves as therapeutic
observer, non intrusive reflections
COMMUNITIES OF
ENQUIRIES
 A pedagogical methodology used in
Philosophy for Children (P4C) – pioneered by
Matthew Lipman.
 Is a structured dialogue on a particular
concept
 With community rules, it develops self-control,
respect for others, logical thinking skills,
language processing skills
 It facilitated inclusion promoting community
citizenship by shared values and
acceptance
difference in pinions.

5. CONCLUSION
 Considering the willingness of teachers to engage
therapeutically with learners as evidence in the
reflection of B. Ed Honours, student in the course
on Emotions, there seem to be a need in teacher
education to raise this consciousness in teachers.
 This paper has demonstrated how education is
inherently therapeutic if good teaching strategies
are used in a healthy and socially inclusive
learning environment.
 It is assumed that many other pedagogic
strategies, when examined ,can be found to
therapeutic for all involved in education.