Reflexões sobre educação e a conquista da moralidade na teoria de D. W. Winnicott

Abstract

This paper deals with the question of limits in education and its implications for human development. The theme is current because it is widely debated by parents and educators, revealing a scenario of concern for the good behavior of children, as well as the effects of excessively authoritarian or permissive attitudes towards them. D. W. Winnicott's Theory of Emotional Maturity was sought for the reflections on this theme, based on the review of the author's work and his scholars in the specialized literature, at the present time. The chosen theoretical framework is highlighted by the valuable contributions to psychoanalysis, by emphasizing the importance of the initial stages of development in the constitution of the personality, while at the same time showing the crucial influence of the environment in this process. For the author, morality is a personal achievement arising from challenges and experiences integrated over time, enabling the individual to commit with himself and with the consequences produced by his actions. The question of limits to the behavior of children appears as a function to be performed by the environment, which may or may not facilitate this process, having different faces, depending on the maturing condition in which the child is. This requires that the environment remain sensitive to the nuances of what the child is communicating with their actions, allowing the integration of aggressiveness, manifestation of creativity and the possibility of redress when necessary.