The Stories School Told Us: Exploring Educational Wounds and Healing Across Cultures and Communities

Who is it aimed at

This workshop is open to counsellors, psychotherapists, educators, practitioners, researchers and anyone with a personal or professional interest in educational experience and relational learning - wherever you are in the world.

This workshop will be delivered in English. Participants are welcome to attend with the support of their own translator or interpreter. Please contact us in advance if you intend to do so – we can then ensure that the relevant workshop information can be shared ahead of time to support accessibility and participation.

Course Outline

“When the child’s world is interrupted by the teacher, a rupture is created in which the child has the opportunity to turn up as their true self in relation to the world.” — Giles Barrow

Yet across many educational systems and cultural contexts, learning is often shaped by rigid expectations, hierarchies and dominant ideas about achievement, intelligence, behaviour and belonging. As a result, many people come to carry painful educational experiences that leave lasting emotional, relational and cultural impacts. The very systems intended to nurture growth can instead create feelings of shame, inadequacy, exclusion or disconnection.

These educational wounds do not exist in isolation. They are shaped by culture, history, language, power and social context, and are often unconsciously repeated across generations, institutions and learning spaces worldwide. Whether we identify as learners, educators, practitioners, leaders, parents or facilitators, many of us have experienced moments where we felt unseen, misunderstood, silenced or pressured to adapt in order to belong.

This online two-day international workshop invites participants to come together in a shared space of reflection, dialogue and mutual learning. Across cultures and continents, we will explore both the differences and common threads within our educational experiences, recognising the value of listening to and learning from one another’s perspectives. By connecting across geographical, cultural and professional boundaries, we aim to create a supportive international learning community where participants can witness, support and challenge one another with care and curiosity.

Together, we will explore the lasting impact of our learning experiences and the unconscious beliefs, relational patterns and survival strategies shaped through education. We will reflect on questions such as:

• What messages did you absorb about who you needed to be in order to succeed, belong or be valued?

• How were these messages shaped by your cultural, social or educational context?

• In what ways do these experiences continue to influence how you show up in learning, teaching and professional spaces today?

Through reflective dialogue and cross-cultural exchange, we will also consider what it means to create permission-rich learning environments: spaces that foster authenticity, curiosity, relational safety, inclusion and connection. We will explore how educational wounds can live not only within individuals, but also within the systems, practices and dynamics we participate in and reproduce.

Drawing on the work of educationalists such as Kirsten Olson, alongside new and existing models of Transactional Analysis, this workshop offers space for deep reflection, meaningful dialogue and practical insight. Together, we will explore how we might begin to heal our relationship with learning while building stronger connections across cultures and creating educational spaces where people can experience greater permission, connection and possibility.

This workshop will give you space to:

• Reflect on the impact of your own educational experiences and how these may have shaped beliefs about learning, success, belonging and self-worth

• Recognise how cultural, social and systemic factors influence educational experiences across different contexts and communities

• Explore how educational wounds and survival strategies can unconsciously influence relationships, communication and participation

• Develop greater awareness of how dominant educational narratives and systems may reinforce exclusion, hierarchy or disconnection.

• Engage in meaningful cross-cultural dialogue about education, identity, belonging and relational learning

• Identify the qualities of permission-rich learning environments, including relational safety, curiosity and inclusion

• Consider how Transactional Analysis concepts and educational theory can support reflective practice and relationally responsive approaches

• Build connections with an international community across cultures, professions and lived experiences

Facilitator

Cat Cornthwaite, PTSTA (E), is an Educational Transactional Analyst based in High Peak, Derbyshire, with extensive experience in secondary education and teacher professional development across the UK and internationally. Cat advocates for more relational and transformative approaches to education and is a recognised voice in Educational TA theory. She is Physis Scotland’s Academic Student Support Advisor.