Exploring the Value and Affordances of Psychoanalysis in the Teaching of English Literary Texts in South African Secondary Education

Teachers and learners at South African secondary schools face a variety of challenges, of which some are psychological, emotional, and hidden from the untrained eye. It is, therefore, crucial to search for methods or theories to help learners with emotional and psychological challenges. The study explored and interrogated one overlooked theory that could help in this regard: the psychoanalytic theory. This Freudian theory is believed to offer a different kind of literary criticism which focuses on the subconscious mental activities and unusual behaviours in literary texts to resolve psychological challenges in education and society. The study investigated the nature, affordances, teaching methods, and challenges and solutions associated with the theory. The study also revealed some practical benefits of the theory for English literary education and life in general. Additionally, the study found that the theory is valuable in equipping teachers and learners with psychoanalytic knowledge and skills to critically analyse English literary content. The study also established that psychoanalytic abilities can help identify and resolve psychological challenges in an educational environment and society in general.


Introduction
The psychoanalysis of literary texts was started by Sigmund Freud, an early twentieth century neurologist who observed the need to apply the principles of psychology in the analysis and criticism of literature.During his lifetime, he studied biology, physiology, and neurology, which caused him to value science before philosophy, and observations before theory (Jay 2024;Tan and Takeyesu 2011).The psychoanalytic theory is unique, especially regarding how it is perceived: as a theory peculiar to the medical field.While this is true, the theory is also a legitimate tool with which to study literary works.This viewpoint is supported by Michaud who said, "Psychoanalysis is not simply a branch of medicine, it helps to understand philosophy, culture, religion and first and foremost literature" (2009,3).According to this quotation, the theory bridges the gap between the field of medicine and the world of literary art.The latter field is the point of focus in this article.The approach compares literary texts to dreams that manifest hidden, unconscious desires and anxieties that can result in a story.The characters in the story represent these subconscious sensations and conflicts in humans (Hossain 2017).Hossain (2017) further declares that the theory may help to psychoanalyse characters' "unusual" behaviour in literary texts and trace the conduct of certain characters back to the author.This makes it necessary to study authors' backgrounds as literary texts are influenced by the activities and thought processes of the author and the environment they come from.The theory is also relevant for the study of English literary content, especially at the Further Education and Training (FET) level as learners at these grades need a high level of literary analysis skills, such as literary appreciation (Department of Basic Education and Training 2011;Isaacs et al. 2007).Having observed the lack of critical comprehension in some learners (from different secondary schools) and students at university level, it becomes clear that an improvement is required in this regard.This advancement can be in the form of pedagogical methods and theories, such as the psychoanalytic theory, which encourages analysis of literary content to unravel the mysteries of the human subconscious mind (Freud 1939).The fact that the theory uses psychoanalysis to diagnose and cure psychological problems makes it helpful to learners with profound emotional challenges that hinder the process of teaching and learning (Manyathi 2014;Moyo 2014;Shilubane et al. 2015).On the analysis of English literary content, the theory is believed to have the potential to help in the facilitation of teaching and learning of literary content to reach the highest form of comprehension, which, according to the Department of Basic Education and Training (2011) is appreciation.Moreover, the theory can act as a guide for teachers to help learners who display psychological problems (Pillay, Patel, and Setlhare-Kajee 2023).
In addition, since the theory deals with repressed, uncommunicated psychological challenges, it becomes an ideal tool to study the "unusual" behaviour of certain characters in English literary texts.The knowledge and skills may be useful to help learners who suffer from such and other psychological problems (Wang 2023).According to Rimawi (2003), psychological issues are interrelated, such as lack of self-control, inability to make moral judgments, aggression, mental trauma, emotional issues, and attachment issues.Al-Amryeen, Baioumy, and Bin Salieh (2020) also recorded other more easily recognisable psychological challenges such as inferiority complex, constant guilt, dependency syndrome, impulsive compulsive behaviours, anxiety, and depression.Cherry (2021) advised that the theory can be used to teach and deal with several human disorders such as anxiety, depression, emotional struggles or trauma, identity problems, self-esteem issues, self-assertion, psychosomatic disorders, relationship issues, self-destructive behaviour, and sexual problems.These challenges affect learners at secondary schools across South Africa, rendering the theory more important to include in teaching and learning English literature texts.Some of the disorders above affect learners frequently; for example, anxiety and depression contribute to many teenage suicides (Bibby 2011), and a lack of self-control may lead to teenage pregnancies, which is responsible for the approximately 74% dropout rate of pregnant girls between the ages of 14 and 19 years in secondary schools in South Africa (Kyei 2012;Mchunu et al. 2012).Singling out teenage pregnancy as one of the significant consequences of psychological problems means that it has the potential to trigger other psychological challenges, such as depression, because it is difficult for teenage mothers to raise children.Given the discussion here, the question arises as to the affordances and value of the theory in teaching and learning English literary texts.To provide a tentative answer to such a query, I begin by mentioning that many studies have shown a lack of critical thinking in students.
Critical thinking skills, according to scholars such as Washburn (2010), Paul (1997), andWoolfolk (2010) are valuable in helping learners to resolve critical challenges as thinking critically involves patience, inference, higher-order thinking, creativity, and rationality in dealing with challenges.However, such benefits are rare owing to the uncritical engagement with literary content at secondary schools, a challenge that is also evident at tertiary levels in South Africa (Biesman-Simons et al. 2020;Brookfield 1987;Ennis 2011;Murawski 2014).Given this challenge, it becomes crucial that teaching and learning English literary content should be approached with teaching methods and theories that promote criticality.

Theoretical Framework
This article used the psychoanalytic theory as both the theoretical framework and the topic for discussion.Psychoanalytic theory views the subconscious realities that tend to manifest as bizarre or unusual behaviour in humans (Wright 1982), which may influence the content of literary texts (Hossain 2017).What is disturbing about repressed feelings, ideas, and memories is that if they become more substantial, the subject could become mentally ill or "neurotic" (Jarvis 2011).With this knowledge, teachers can apply the principles of the psychoanalytic theory to encourage learners to communicate their inner, hidden feelings and thoughts to avoid mental problems that manifest in atrocities such as suicide.The inquiry here is whether literary texts, especially those studied at secondary schools, contain such information and how teachers interpret it to learners to the point of instilling criticality in how learners think about the author and content.
To further understand psychoanalytical theory and its connection to literature, the founder of the theory, Freud (1939, 3), said: Literature and all other art forms consist of an imagined fulfilment of wishes that are denied by reality or forbidden by prevailing moral standards.Forbidden wishes are unconsciously repressed in the artist's/writer's mind and become disguised fantasies.
This quotation explains that literary texts often manifest subconscious fantasies and wishes stored in the authors' subconscious minds.These fantasies and wishes are repressed because they may be taboo or unacceptable by societal moral or religious standards.Such literary content should be interpreted wisely by teachers for learners to comprehend and develop critical thinking skills.Freud (1939) further declares that the message in literary texts may be a product of repressed feelings and fantasies that manifest as literary art.This line of thinking is factual because fantastical literary works such as Rowling's Harry Potter novels were also made into movies that entertain millions worldwide.This kind of thinking may explain why omniscient writers in literature write about a particular topic as if they are more knowledgeable than anyone else, a concept known as authorial subjectivity (Dawson 2009).Authorial subjectivity differs from other forms of narration because, for instance, in the narrator-protagonist, the author/narrator may engage the audience to make up their minds about a specific issue rather than to dictate ideas (Dawson 2009, 17).In other words, omniscient writers tend to be more subjective than objective, meaning their views are dictated to the readers.The repressed feelings are further explained by Holland (1997, 13) as "the range of fantasies that one could identify in a literary text expanded from oedipal triangles to fantasies about money, devouring and being devoured, going into dangerous places, fantasies about control, ambition, rage, and so on."These hidden fantasies as mentioned above may cause a human's inability to achieve or access some of the things they need, which may result in fantasising about the unattainable.
Therefore, if a literary text talks about any of the above examples, it may mean that the ideas expressed may result from feelings and fantasies hidden in an author's subconscious coming out in the form of literature.Authors' display of subjective passion may represent what Freud (1939, 45) regarded as "repressed ideas that could not be openly expressed in reality because society may deem such ideas unacceptable."It brings to light the unconscious repressed feelings and opinions that society, culture, or religions deem unwanted or taboo, and the challenge here is that learners may be exposed to this psychotic information through literature, which makes it crucial to explain and interpret and think critically about any psychopathic content.

The Value and Affordances of the Theory
According to Storck-van Reenen and Smith (2015), South Africa realised the need for psychoanalysis which resulted in the formation of the South African Psychoanalysis Trust (SAPT) in 1994.This was the era of the end of apartheid and the beginning of the united South Africa riddled with past traumas which needed healing through reconciliatory efforts aimed at rebuilding the country.One particular challenge that faced the new South Africa was, and still is, the poverty that plagues the majority of South Africans.Freud (1919) had a tentative idea on how the theory can help the poor as follows: We shall probably discover that the poor are even less ready to part with their neuroses than the rich, because the hard life that awaits them if they recover offers them no attraction, and illness gives them one more claim to social help.Often, perhaps, we may only be able to achieve anything by combining mental assistance with some material support.… But whatever form this psychotherapy for the people may take, whatever the elements out of which it is compounded, its most effective and most important ingredients will assuredly remain those borrowed from strict and untendentious psychoanalysis.(Freud 1919, 167-168) Such statements make the theory more valuable not only in education, but also in addressing societal challenges.
Psychoanalytic theory is a valuable tool to critically study and analyse English literary works because it is both social and psychological in character (Devardhi 2009;Tarzian, Ndrio, and Fakoya 2023;Wallerstein 2005).It is a social theory that studies humans and their activities as much as it is psychological in that it exposes the hidden, subconscious mind (Holland 1997), which makes it valuable and a useful tool to study the influences of the subconscious mind in a society that needs knowledge, including a formal education scene such as an English literary classroom.According to Van Zyl (2007), psychoanalytic criticism is applicable in teaching literature in two ways: the first looks at the text itself, disregarding the external factors like authors, called textual analysis, and the second looks at the environment the authors come from.In textual analysis, the emphasis is on the elements that make up a text, such as characters, themes, and plots (Rains 2015).This does not mean that the theory is the only one that critically analyses texts this way, but the characters in English literary texts can be analysed using the theory to gain knowledge which will, in turn, help learners with similar psychological challenges.Hartmann (1950) believed that writing could be a form of therapy for authors to reveal the dark, uncommunicated issues affecting them and their communities.The argument here is that the theory encourages critical analysis of authors to psychoanalyse their viewpoints that make up a text.This may help inform the curricula for English literary education, especially to determine the kind of literature to expose to secondary schools in South Africa.To continue with this argument, according to Hossain (2017, 4), psychoanalytic literary criticism can focus on one or more of the following: (I).The author: The theory is used to analyse the author and his/her life and the literary work.(II).The characters: This theory is used to analyse one or more of the characters; the psychological theory becomes a tool to explain the characters' behaviour and motivations.(III).The audience: The theory is used to explain the appeal of the work for those who read it.(IV).The text: The theory is used to analyse the role of language and symbolism in the work.
As Hossain puts it in the quotation above, the idea of language analysis in literary texts (as expressed in IV above) was further expanded by psychoanalysis enthusiast Jacques Lacan in his seminars (1954)(1955).According to Quigley (1998, 4), the "French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan has reinterpreted Freud in structuralist terms, bringing the theory into contemporary literary analysis."Quigley stresses the symbiotic working relationship between the two scholars by declaring that Lacan did this (reiterating Freud's work) by comparing the unconscious, which is core to psychoanalytic theory, to the interpretation of dreams using language in literary works.The belief that the theory considers dreams important is shared by Gay (1989), who posits that Freud viewed dreams as the "royal road" to an individual's unconscious mind.This fact can guide teachers in English literary classrooms to use the theory to help explain literary content, such as the connection between dreams and reality.
Wali (2011) posited that literary critics often analyse the actions of literary characters in a work of literature by applying the three personality structures-id, ego, and superego-which Freud identified while studying human behaviour.Wali further explained that critics study the three structures of characters in literary works not only for basic knowledge but also to emphasise the processes of the segments rooted in the behaviours and actions of the characters.This process is called psychoanalytic criticism and is applied in contemporary literary lessons to help learners think beyond just basic knowledge of the characters to think deeper into, for example, what causes certain characters to behave more unusually.It is a method of "getting into the mind" of the author or character to understand the hidden meaning behind expressed words and actions.Tyson (2006) stated that the unconscious's operations resemble two prevalent language processes: metaphor and metonymy.Both Tyson (2006) and Quigley (1998) agree with Lacan's declaration that unconscious thought (which is the focus of Freud's literary psychoanalysis) works in the same way that language does, for instance, in the form of metaphors and metonymy.This means that metaphor compares two concepts to each other, while metonymy works by association rather than comparison, primarily through scenarios where one thing stands for the whole concept.With this argument in mind, it becomes clear that both Freud and Lacan agree that abstract words and symbolism in literary works need clarification for learners to comprehend and think critically about content.As much as Freud's psychoanalysis is about the subconscious mind, Lacan's view is in terms of the language used in literature.The idea here is that the subconscious mind explained by Freud's psychoanalytic theory is vital to understanding and explaining literary devices in literature such as the ones suggested by Lacan (1954Lacan ( -1955)).

Effectiveness of Psychoanalytic Pedagogies
One of the psychoanalytic pedagogies used to critically study English literature is a process called "psychobiography" (Niaz, Stanikzai, and Sahibzada 2019).According to Kovary (2011), psychobiography is an analytical method used in academic classrooms and a research strategy psychologists use to gain insight into patients' backgrounds for accurate diagnoses and possible cures.Many literary texts, including those prescribed by the Department of Basic Education and Training, have biographical information about the authors, but often the information is insufficient.By applying the psychoanalytic principles in literary classrooms, teachers and learners learn different kinds of writing and narration styles such as omniscient writing (Dawson 2009).
Mas-Solé (2020), who explored the value of using the theory in some of Shakespeare's plays, stated that the theory "provides dramatists a unique opportunity to expand the barriers of the known and delve into their characters' fictional minds, permitting their imagination to create characters with a sense of psychological depth that had previously been uncharted" (Mas Solé 2020, 1).This scholar added that the theory can be used to analyse plays to explore the unusual behaviour of fictional characters, for example, to help understand the bizarre and unacceptable in reality and to eradicate the barrier that hinders the understanding of the unconscious mind.In continuing with the pragmatic aspect of the theory, scholars such as Brown and Price (1999), Awan (2017), and De Oliveira Neto (2023) concluded that using pedagogical methods like experiential and immersive learning, which promote a self-reflective attitude (Giffney 2024), is an ideal way to put the theory into action.These scholars found that students perceive it to be easier to talk about literary content that contains emotional messages they can relate to, and thus the dialogism pedagogy that was used helped unearth hidden thoughts or challenges that could normally pose problems when it comes to students' learning processes.According to Gentry (1990), experiential learning is more participative, interactive, and pragmatic, which makes it more conducive to English literature learners in grades 10-12 in the context of the study to develop the thinking skills needed at the tertiary level.Even though Brown and Price (1990) experimented on university students in America, the pedagogy used can be applied to FET secondary schools in South Africa.
Another experiment to test the effectiveness of the psychoanalytic theory was conducted by Auchincloss and Davis (2000), who showed the immersive learning initiated by Freud (in the form of creative writing).According to Yalof (2015, 130), Auchincloss and Davis conducted lectures on Freud's works and assessed students by posing the following question: Did Freud speak to students' concerns?The "findings reflected a three-year period during which students respected Freud's insights about coming-of-age topics such as loss and separation, strivings for independence and identity, and sexuality."Again, in this instance, the experiment to determine the effectiveness of the theory in teaching and learning was tested on tertiary students, but the growing interest that stemmed from the realisation that Freud's psychoanalytic writings were relevant to their lived experiences could be effectively used with secondary school English literature learners with desirable outcomes.In this experiment, Auchincloss and Davis (2000) encouraged dialogism teaching and learning strategies such as discussion of Freud's autobiography, which included Freud's writings, pictures, letters to Fleiss, and youthful love letters to his fiancé, while also encouraging a critique of Freud.The study also revealed that students wanted to study Freud because he was considered controversial and offered something more relevant to their lives.
A practical example of the effectiveness of the theory is the study conducted by Read (2007) which focused on human relations between black and white people in postapartheid South Africa.This study showed that if used knowledgeably, the theory's analytic method allows cultural differences to be studied and offers treatment mechanisms.According to Rammala (2009), the theory was used successfully to solve a range of issues such as overcoming gender problems, race, ethnic, cultural and historical issues, which are issues that affect South African learners at secondary schools.Becker and Isaacs (1993) conducted interviews with several clinical psychologists in Cape Town and found that many (about 48%) practised some form of basic dynamic psychotherapy, with most of them leaning towards Freud's psychodynamic orientation.This is evidence enough to show the trend and success of the theory.
The psychoanalytic theory seems applicable in other fields, such as sociology (Guerra 2021).In this field, the effectiveness of psychoanalytic theory in the continent of Africa was investigated by the Swiss psychoanalysts Paul Parin, Goldy Parin-Matthey, and Fritz Morgenthalera.According to Peltzer and Reichmayr (1999), these psychoanalysts shared the effectiveness of the theory by conducting ethnopsychoanalytic studies among the Dogon of Mali and the Agny of the Ivory Coast in the 1950s and 1960s.The study showed that psychoanalysis was theoretically and practically vital for studying and understanding the unconscious minds of people born and bred in non-European societal formations.This kind of experiment can be implemented in the English literature classroom, especially with learners from diverse backgrounds, for better social relations in the country judging from its turbulent past of racial discrimination and violence.This also shows that the theory can be used jointly with the concept of inclusive pedagogy, which encourages teachers to focus on the needs of all learners (Kershner 2016).
To continue this argument, it is crucial to highlight one of the best works on the theory in South Africa in the form of a study that is at the heart of racism in the country and all over the world.According to Gillespie (1992), the South African Psychoanalytic Society under the leadership of Hanns Sachs (1881Sachs ( -1947) ) published their first recognised work, which is documented in the book Black Hamlet: The Mind of an African Negro Revealed by Psychoanalysis published in 1937 (Sachs 1947(Sachs , 1996)).According to Peltzer and Reichmayr (1999, 142), the book is a biography of the study's subject, "the Black Zimbabwean traditional healer named John Chavafambira.The study is the first known report of psychoanalysis conducted with an African."In this study, the group seem to have acted against old prejudices and taboos that characterised the old European Christianity's ethnocentrism and racism.The crux of the matter here is that before the study, Europeans regarded Blacks as savages and animals without a "soul," an ideology adopted by European colonialists and slave traders.Using psychoanalytic theory to guide the study, Sachs and his group "credited" "a Black African with an internal world" which was to "go against the creeds, not just of explicit racism but of medical science" (Rose 1998, 334).The study, offensive though it may seem, contributed to eradicating the ignorant mentality of some Europeans towards black people, that black people are on the level of animals regarding mental capacity and capability.This kind of knowledge can be useful in a country where the residues of apartheid with its many facets of discrimination still exists.

Challenges and Possible Solutions Concerning the Theory
The psychoanalytic theory has received criticism from scholars who doubt its validity (Eagle 2007;Michels 1983;Wax 1986).One such critic is Alston (2003) who says that the theory has a propensity to over-interpret and over-psychologise and neglect the elements of history and culture that influence behaviour.While this opinion may be genuine, it was discussed above that the theory can be used to study the author's background and how this can influence content.This makes the theory more social than clinical because analysis of an author's background includes the community and the pattern of thought processes, culture and traditions, history, education, politics, and religion.The Hanns Sachs study quoted from Sachs (1947Sachs ( , 1996) ) as discussed in the preceding section is one example for this.Ackerman (2022) also provides some shortfalls of the theory.One such challenge is that many of the hypotheses or suppositions of the psychoanalytic theory cannot be tested and applied empirically, rendering it ineffective in teaching and learning.This again can be disputed because teaching and learning is also a type of action empirical research.
To continue, Eagle (2003) declares that analysis and transference of psychoanalytic treatment is the focus; therefore, only transference interpretations are therapeutic and valuable in contemporary psychoanalysis.This means that in an educational setting, learners' learning experience can be triggered by past experiences (Prasko et al. 2022).For instance, learners who experienced psychological challenges (such as emotional trauma) can relate to English literary content that talks about and provides solutions to such challenges.This can be compared to the act of determining prior knowledge before equipping learners with new information which is a common practice in literary teaching.Teachers may need to gain the basic knowledge of psychoanalytic transference and interpretations, just as it can be difficult to teach without thorough knowledge and skills.Ackerman (2022) also noted that the psychoanalytic theory, generally, has yet to be supported across cultures and may apply only to Western culture.This is true to some extent, and must have prompted scholars like Tummala-Narra (2015), who advocated for a universal approach to applying psychoanalytic principles because it was originally rooted in Western cultural values and norms.The multicultural element of the theory means that it is culturally inclusive, accommodating, and recognises all cultures and traditions in the implementation of psychoanalysis in educational practices (Adebayo and Ilori 2013), while the feminist psychoanalytic era provided for the recognition of women in the writing and teaching of literary works (Zakin and Leeb 2023).This resulted in multicultural feminist psychoanalysis, which challenges traditional approaches to psychotherapy to interrogate and address issues of race and gender relations, therefore offering solutions to more broadly social contexts.
Despite arguments like the above, there needs to be more evidence that the theory works, rendering it unsubstantiated faith based on repeated declarations (Spence 1992).According to Barron, Eagle, and Wolitzky (1992), the psychoanalytic theory depends on the acquiescence to findings from an array of theories and concepts to survive for a practical interpretation of literary art.Another argument against the psychoanalytic theory is its tendency to rely on thought processes and ignore the brain's biological nature and functional processes.This resulted in an attempt to incorporate neuroscience into psychoanalysis, resulting in the coinage of "neuropsychoanalytic discourse" (Brass and Carmeli 2007), which says that psychoanalysis should consider the biological function and processes of the brain in processing information and memories.This new trend is supported by researchers such as Kernberg (2004) and Mayes (2003), who believe that the theory should depend on neuroscience for its findings to be accurate and credible.This fact may be valid, but as explored in the introduction above, Freud was (among other things) a neurologist; therefore, he would not have ignored the value of neurology in psychoanalysis.The biological trend of thinking is disputed by psychoanalysts who argue that psychoanalytic principles are valid on their own without neuroscience or any other scientific studies of the mind.Eagle (2007, 18) said, "I know of no current theory other than psychoanalysis that even attempts to do justice to the depth and complexity of the human mind." According to Richards (2018), the theory cannot be relied on in the study of, for example, problematic learners, especially children.Richards (2018) says that "the problem with psychoanalysis is that the focus is still primarily on the individual being the problem.And in the case of children, to keep focusing on them as the problem while ignoring wider, social problems is dangerous."Richards here posits that the theory is not inclusive, meaning it excludes certain valuable information which is a valid fact.Furthermore, studies agree that the theory regards the author as the starting point for psychoanalysis.This interrogation normally reveals more information about what the "wider, social problems" Richards mentioned here are: meaning more information about the society/community is revealed in the process of the "psychobiography" explained by Niaz, Stanikzai, and Sahibzada (2019) and Kovary (2011) above.

Conclusion
Despite several denunciations of the theory by some scholars as discussed, the theory is used in contemporary literature classrooms (and outside formal education) with some desirable results.It was argued that the theory acts as a lens through which literary audiences can analytically study and understand hidden thoughts that could determine behaviour stemming from hidden thoughts and memories in the subconscious.Some researchers argue that the theory's findings are only trustworthy when the theory's principles are applied with the assistance of other theories, especially theories that deal with the anatomical nature and functioning of the human brain.Using the theory in conjunction with other theories is not problematic but disregarding it without proper studies is problematic because the theory can offer solutions to, for instance, unusual behaviour displayed by some students in a literature classroom, such as delinquency, poor performance, teenage pregnancies and more as discussed in this article.The medical field believes that "prevention is better than cure."Therefore, after the above discussion, it is safe to conclude that the theory can be applied as a preventive measure before the "unusual" behaviour manifests as something drastic.
The value of the theory was seen in the studies that psychoanalysts embarked on to solve challenges ranging from racism, ignorance, and teenage pregnancies to self-reflection and self-actualisation.According to the psychoanalysts and their studies, the theory helped groups and individuals to learn and unlearn certain beliefs and mentalities such as discrimination based on racial attributes as shown by Hanns Sachs, which was an attempt at putting black people in their original place of being humans rather than being perceived as animals by Europeans.In this instance, the theory was used successfully to curb discrimination based on race, religion, and culture.The same technique (theory) can be used to challenge similar atrocities as they are still traceable in contemporary South Africa.
The discussion about the theory on teaching and learning reminds psychoanalysts that more studies need to be conducted in the field of psychoanalysis of English literary content.It is also crucial to expand the theory to include elements of psychodynamics to add to the existing data to help in the knowledge and practice of the theory.Hopefully, this will eradicate the hidden emotional challenges that learners experience in and outside the classroom.Existing information and studies have helped individuals and groups to reconcile; however, there is still a need for more studies, especially in the application of the theory in education and the wider society.