Teachers as Curriculum Theorists: The Key to Unlocking Student Self-Identity

Using a psychoanalytic lens, the apparent establishment of one’s personal identity is readily accomplished through the intrinsic operation of the psyche interacting with the extrinsic process of seeing ourselves in relation to others around us. Identity is then formed as we recognize that we are not what other around us are. Therefore, how does an educational institution that purports status quo and conformity influence the development of the delicate student psyche in the critical years of self-identity formation? Rules and regulations designed by the institution to hamper student self-identity often lead to student rebellion as the student psyche initiates damage control in trying to deal with the physical limitations of its surroundings. But, it is in the student-teacher relationship where damage repair, healing, and discovery of self can be positively influenced amongst the negativity of the parameters of the institution. Since the field of curriculum theory readily lends itself to the discovery of self-identity, approaching this issue as a curriculum theorist makes the most sense. When teachers operate as curriculum theorists they have the ability to use their understanding of their own self-identities to help their students recognize and nurture their own sense of self, despite the circumstances