There are a few things that are included in the humanistic psychology. Aside from human beings, it also includes their total capacities, characteristics and potentialities. A well-known American psychologist named Abraham Maslow has described the extentialistic psychology, the one that shows the emptiness and the shortcomings of an individual succeed in maintaining his existence. These emptiness and the shortcomings are named “needs” by him. Apart from naming these things, the man also made a list of different kinds of needs, on the fulfillment of which the individual exists. Below are the main implications of the humanistic approach to the learning process:
- Place of the children in teaching learning
The Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow believes that education should be centered on the students. The thing that should be done is to reach, touch, and teach them according to their nature, interests, skills, and so on. First of all, these teachers have to do some research about these students, including about their attitude, skills, potentialities, abilities, level of aspiration, social, emotional, intellectual, physical, aesthetic development, mental health, and more. After making an observation, it is time for them to make a plan to teach them.
- Focus on individuality
This one thinks that a human being is such an amazing creation. Everyone is unique and has their own individuality. The individuality that everyone has should be respected and developed through education. It is a must for the difference that every individual has to be respected and it is a must for the internal virtues of an individual to be developed.
- Know well about the children
As per humanistic approach, it is needed for the teachers to know everything about their students, including about the things that they love, how they behave, what skills they have, and from where they are. All the things mentioned are helpful for the process of learning and teaching. Basically, knowing everything about the students is the very first thing to do before teaching them. Do not ever try to teach them if as a teacher you have no idea about them, unless you want the process of learning and teaching to fail.
- Ways of teaching
According to this approach, the ways of teaching are developed based on psychological principles. It focuses on active learning. There are a total of three things that are considered as basis for deciding the way of teaching to be used, such as the readiness, the mental set, and the motivation of the students.
- Discipline
The discipline approach is the one that focuses on self-discipline. Another thing that it puts the focus on is self-control.
- Place and role of teacher
The teacher is considered as a guide, a friend, and a helper of the students in their learning process by the humanistic approach. Besides, they are also recognized as the milestone who plays an important role in the journey of total development of the students.
- Curriculum
The theory of Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow is named as a concept that can unit everyone. If a right curriculum is used, the potential that these students have can appear to the surface. Once again, the potential of these students that are hidden can show up, including their intention to learn.
Humanistic approach is also known as a democratic approach. For those who are not familiar with this approach, it recognizes children and encourages the ones in a rich environment to have all round development.
Not only that, there are a few more strong points for the purpose of this approach to learning, such as:
- It is a must for every teacher to understand their subject matter. Not only that, it is also important for them to use the research demonstrating principles of motivational learning wisely. Besides, they need to know that they are important teaching aids.
- It is a must for the teachers to bear in mind that the students are the ones who bring their total selves to the classroom. The heads that they have will be used to think and feel. All of them bring values that will be used to filter all the things that they see and hear. This kind of thing is actually good as the learning styles will vary.
- It is a must for the teachers to lend a hand to the students so that they can make their own decision of who they are and of the things that they want to be. Every student has a right to decide what is best for themselves. With their mind, they can make their own decision. It does not matter whether their decision is right or wrong. What matters the most is that they can at least have a chance to develop their sense of self-necessity so that they can have productive lives.
- It is a must for the teachers to understand how it feels like to be in their position. These teachers can try to put themselves on the feet of the students. Try to accept the truth and make sure to not force them to change their opinion.
The theory of the Hierarchy of Needs by a psychologist from America named Abraham Maslow is adopted by a lot of teachers around the world. These teachers think that it is really helpful to identify every ungratified need of the students that may block their urge to gratify the growth needs, which can cause some issues that are related to personal or discipline. It is clear that human behavior is dynamic. Besides, it is also pushed by specific energy and forces. While everything that is done by these students makes sense and is able to be understood, it is still needed for the teachers to see the needs and motives. On one side, these teachers can understand the responses that their students give and on the other hand, they need to also understand that the needs and motives that these students have are important in the teaching and learning process.
