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The « educational phenomenon » is complex, involving a variety of levels. But the difficulties encountered by professionals seem to center on social psychological issues. The « totalizing » character of the educational phenomenon hems in some of the actors to the point where they simply move on to do training. Based on a reflection about the avoidance which occurs while social workers move toward the position of trainer, the article sketches out a theory of action including thinking both on complex social-educational factors and on training support. To do this requires going beyond the framework of a classic epistemology of knowledge, which holds objects at a distance. The author suggests giving social psychology a central place in the thinking about educational phenomena, combining an experience-close approach with an attempt to take distance, an approach to the relational organisational dimensions and the problem of change. Two training experiences illustrate the contribution of the social psychological approach.