The Teacher as Container of Anxiety: Psychoanalysis and the Role of Teacher

This article focuses on anxiety in teaching and learning. It argues that in essence the teacher is the keystone upon which the various aspects of the art of good teaching rest. Within this space, learning can be experienced as the expansion of potential, not merely the mastery of content and pre-defined competencies. Despite the differences in aims, a strong family resemblance exists between teaching and psychoanalysis in terms of setting, role, transference and underlying notions of human development.