The use of Transactional Analysis in secondary education: a case study

This paper presents the findings of a case study on the use of Transactional Analysis (TA) in schools in England. The paper gives a brief overview of TA and its relevance to secondary education – for pupils, teachers and school improvement. TA is a field of psychology that looks at the ‘transactions’ that go on between people when they communicate. Self-awareness and understanding of others enables individuals and groups to develop effective and powerful communication and a better climate in the workplace. This paper goes on to present the findings of the case study on teaching TA to children and young people from 11 – 25 and their teachers. We have found that children, young people and teachers with TA skills have better self-awareness, increased understanding of others and as a consequence better relationships and can demonstrate impact on attendance, attainment, personal and professional lives and school climate overall. We conclude with recommendations for practice.