ERIC Number: EJ1249288
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0046-760X
EISSN: N/A
In Search of the Unconscious: The Science-Based Diagnostic Observation of Girls in a Dutch Reformatory in the 1950s
Bakker, Nelleke
History of Education, v49 n2 p209-226 2020
This article discusses the science-based diagnostic observation in a Dutch girls' reformatory in the 1950s. Scientisation of the observation implied that to the medical examination upon entry and observation of a child's behaviour were added a psychological assessment, a psychiatric examination, and an inquiry into the family of origin. Inspired by dynamic psychology it was part of a strategy to promote a more professional and individualised treatment in child protection. The research addresses the claims to an additional value of child science in this procedure. It turns out that the psychological and psychiatric knowledges weighed heavier than the input from non-academic staff in regard to the representation of a girl in the observation report and advice to the juvenile court. Information concerning a girl's observed behaviour and acceptance in the group was overruled by Freudian beliefs regarding the consequences of early childhood experiences for her unconscious feelings.
Descriptors: Educational History, Early Childhood Education, Medical Evaluation, Child Safety, Females, Juvenile Justice, Psychiatry, Courts, Child Behavior, Foreign Countries, Early Experience, Psychological Evaluation, Institutionalized Persons, Family Relationship, Observation, Moral Values, Sexuality, Self Concept, Sexual Abuse, Adolescents
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A