For a Sociology of Defences Against Emotions at School: Work Discussion Groups as an Action-Research Method

The importance of bringing to light the cultural structures that shape professional practices can be found in research that draws on critical sociological perspectives. For example, Bourdieu’s concept of habitus has been adopted to uncover structured and structuring dispositions that in"uence educational work below the level of consciousness. In addition, sociologists belonging to the tradition of Institutional Analysis have focused on latent institutional factors infuencing the life of organizations and the work of their members. the purpose of this article is to explore possible cross-disciplinary developments between psychoanalytic and sociological theories by drawing on the practice of Work Discussion Groups (WDGs) oriented by the psychoanalytic theory of social defences.