Humanistic Approaches to Learning H 1469

Stoney, S., & Wild, M. (1998). Motivation and interface design: a broad cluster of ideas and issues relating to the values
Maximising learning opportunities. Journal of Computer Assisted and goals of human life. Humanists do not accept
Learning, 14, 40–50.
authoritarian, anti-democratic, or supernatural beliefs.
Tzvetanova, S. (2007). Emotional interface methodology. IASDR 07.
International association of societies of design research, The They do not believe in a deity, but value freedom,
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, November 12th–15th. reason, individual responsibility, compassion, empa-
Uden, L. (2004). Editorial. International Journal of Learning Technol- thy, and tolerance for others. However, some of its
ogy, 1(1), 1–15. precepts have been adopted by dogmatic movements
not favored by humanists. Roman Catholics have called
themselves “Christian Humanists” and Soviet writers
have called themselves “Communist Humanists.”
Humanism Indeed, anyone wishing to improve the quality of
human life may call themselves “humanist.” This has
▶ Humanistic Theory of Learning: Maslow
meant that humanism has not always been a description
of a particular world view, but a prescription of how H
humans should conduct themselves (Kurtz 1973).
However, it is generally accepted that those with strong
Humanistic Approaches to dogmatic beliefs in God cannot be termed humanist.
Learning Neither can anyone with strong, dogmatic political
beliefs.
ALASTAIR SHARP The International Humanist and Ethical Union
Department of English, Lingnan University, offered a “statement of beliefs” in 2002 which is sum-
Hong Kong, China marized below:
● An ethical duty to care for all humanity
● A duty to use science in a rational, creative manner,
Synonyms
tempered by human values
Constructivism; Discovery learning; Holistic learning;
● A commitment to free education for all, with no
Student centered learning
imposition of political or religious dogma
● A belief in personal liberty combined with social
Definition
responsibility
Humanistic approaches to learning are based on the
● A belief in the value of art, music, the visual and
principles of humanism and are founded most notably
performing arts and the encouragement of
on the work of Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) and Carl
creativity
Rogers (1902–1987). They center on the learner as an
individual and consider that learning is not just about Historically, humanism can be found in the writ-
the intellect, but also about educating the “whole per- ings of Confucius (551–471 BC), with his belief in
son,” taking a person’s interests, goals, and enthusiasm “securing justice and righteousness among people,”
into account, so that full potential can be achieved. This through to the Greek philosopher Epicurus (342–271
approach to learning is student centered, with learners BC), who, not believing in God, wrote of the search for
encouraged to take responsibility for their own learn- a contented human life. Voltaire (1694–1778) fre-
ing and being intrinsically, rather than extrinsically quently took a stand against injustice and stood for
motivated. The primary goal of a humanistic education the rights and principles of free speech, retaining little
is human well-being, including the primacy of human religious belief. Among the many other writers consid-
values, the development of human potential, and the ered as humanist are David Hume (1711–76), Jeremy
acknowledgment of human dignity. Bentham (1748–1832), Jean Jacque Rousseau (1712–
1778), and Bertrand Russell (1872–1970).
Theoretical Background Nineteenth century views of humanistic education
Defining humanism as a philosophy is problematic. felt that the main aim should be to develop appropriate
However, it is generally accepted and defined as qualities in the young by giving them an acquaintance
1470 H Humanistic Approaches to Learning

with selected individuals from past generations. Sub- needs are ignored, not only will learning be
ject matter focused on the history, literature, and phi- unproductive, but an anti school value system may
losophy of classical Greece and Rome. This view was develop among learners. Humanist approaches to
based on Plato’s stance that education should be aimed learning support positive emotions in students (moti-
at preparing a political elite and that such an education vation, empathy and high self-esteem) and seek to help
should have a submissive respect for the past. This can and avoid negative emotions (anger, anxiety, stress and
be viewed as an archaic view of humanism’s relation to depression).
learning. Humanistic approaches have a close connection
Within modern learning theory humanistic with the learner centered ideas of ▶ constructivism.
approaches may be in opposition to other psychologi- The methods used include building a team based col-
cal views. ▶ Behaviorism sees learning as the result laborative learning environment, with active learning
of conditioned responses, reinforced by extrinsic where the teacher is no longer the primary conduit for
rewards or imposed sanctions. Interest is in behavioral knowledge. The teacher acts as a coach and a facilitator.
changes and external outputs. Teacher approval and Humanist theory plays a part in approaches such as
praise are favored. Information processing theory person-centered counseling, group-work approaches,
(▶ cognitivism) sees the brain as being similar to student-centered learning, cooperative learning, and
a computer with neural networks performing processes discovery learning. Emphasis is on learner autonomy
to solve problems and make decisions. Individual and self-motivation. These ideas grew from Piaget’s
knowledge in cognitivism is a large database of infor- “developmental learning” which stated that children
mation organized into logical patterns which requires learn from direct experience with life and an uncon-
the accurate transmission of knowledge from the scious testing of their mental models or schemas in
teacher (the expert) to the student. Success is measured a process he called “assimilation and accommodation.”
when the student has the same mental construct of the Similar ideas about learning were presented by Bruner’s
objects being studied as the teacher. It is concerned belief in “discovery learning” and by John Dewey’s
with transferring schemas from teachers to students. belief in the “progressive education” movement which
Such ideas are not interested in self actualization or self had increasing influence from the 1930s onward. The
direction, or whether an individual’s needs are being key to all these ideas is that learners will achieve more if
met, nor are they interested in holistic learning and, as they discover it for themselves and that they will, in the
such, are antipathetic to humanistic goals. process, become self-motivated. In foreign language
How then do humanists instill their core beliefs into learning, for example, a number of methodologies
education and learning (beliefs as identified by the have grown from humanistic approaches to learning,
humanist and ethical union above)? Fundamentally, such as the Silent way, Suggestopedia, and Community
learning has to center on the personal learning experi- Language Learning. The focus is on the learner rather
ences and needs of the learner. Abraham Maslow than the linguistic phenomena of the language being
(1954) recognized a hierarchy of needs on seven levels, learned. An on-line language teaching journal, Human-
beginning with basic physical needs (food water, etc.) izing Language Teaching is devoted to exploring these
to a state of self actualization, where a person would be approaches.
able to make full use of his/her talents and potentials. Early thinkers in humanistic education have been
Carl Rogers (1969) stressed client centered and ▶ expe- John Dewey (1859–1952), Paulo Freire (1921–1997),
riential learning. The focus therefore is on the teacher’s Johann Pestalozzi (1746–1827), and Maria Montessori
ability to foster a strong self-concept in the learner and (1870–1952). The ideas of the latter educator remain
an ability to make personal decisions, as well as a strong particularly popular. In the education of children the
belief in self-directed learning. Learning should be per- Montessori approach encourages children to develop
sonalized and clearly relevant to the learner. Specific creativity, to follow their own interests, to interact with
needs have to be identified, and teachers should empa- others, and to learn at their own pace. Despite periodic
thize with students as individuals and seek to under- criticism, the approach has been praised most recently
stand the ways in which they make sense of the world. by Stoll Lillard (2005) and shown to have considerable
Bruner (1996) has pointed out that if such personalized benefits, both in traditional subjects areas as well
 Humanistic Theory of Learning: Maslow H 1471

as in social and creative development. A.S. Neill’s ▶ Piaget’s Learning Theory

Summerhill school was opened in 1921 and provides ▶ Rousseau, Jean Jacques (1712–1778)
one of the most famous examples of a humanistic ▶ Student Centered Learning
approach to education (Vaughan 2006). It offers a
democratic environment, with teachers and students References
having equal voting rights in decision making pro- Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge: Harvard
cesses. There is no requirement to attend lessons and University Press.
no religious instruction (although philosophy and his- Kurtz, P. (1973). The humanist alternative: some definitions of human-
ism. Buffalo: Prometheus Books.
tory are taught). Students are given space to learn and Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.
develop. A basic premise is that children learn preju- Rogers, C. (1969). Freedom to learn: A view of what education might
dice, hatred, and intolerance from adult authority, become. Columbus: Charles E. Merrill.
without the restrictions of authority they will grow Stoll Lillard, A. (2005). Montessori: The science behind the genius.
naturally as caring, loving individuals. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vaughan, M. (2006). Summerhill and A.S. Neill. New York: Open
University Press. H
Important Scientific Research and
Open Questions
As mentioned earlier, defining humanism has been
problematic. As a result it is not always easy to specif-
ically decide if a certain learning method or situation is Humanistic Psychology
humanistic. Humanism identifies nondirective
methods of learning to allow the child to become ▶ Humanistic Theory of Learning: Maslow
truly independent. However, it is not always clear if
such methods will have this affect. There is a risk of
anarchy and a loss of fundamental values and such risks
have been identified at schools such as Summerhill. Humanistic Theory of Learning:
Child/student approaches, as a part of humanistic
learning, have however lost favor in recent years
Maslow
because they place little or no emphasis on externally
SUSAN R. MADSEN, IAN K. WILSON
imposed attainment standards. The predilection in
Woodbury School of Business, Utah Valley University,
many countries for targets and testing has required
Orem, UT, USA
a strictly rigid curriculum. Testing and classifying chil-
dren and preparing them for work has become the
norm. Education debates have lost their grounding in
philosophy, with any questions of why we teach and
Synonyms
Hierarchy of needs; Humanism; Humanistic psychology
learn drowned in a welter of efficacy, measurement,
target setting, and the increasing micro management
Definition
of education policy and implementation. In spite of
Two definitions are central to this entry: humanism
this problem, individual teachers within state systems
and learning. Humanism focuses on human beings
can still use humanistic approaches as their preferred
being free to act and control their own destinies. It
teaching styles, and can attempt, as far as possible, to
centers on human values, interests, capacities, needs,
accommodate humanistic ideals within structured
worth, and dignity. It is a belief that people have an
teaching environments.
unlimited potential for growth and development and
that they are inherently good. Individuals have the
Cross-References ability to determine for themselves truth and falsehood
▶ Experiential Learning through rational and empirical thought. Learning
▶ Human Cognition and Learning refers to the acquisition of new knowledge, behaviors,
▶ Personalized Learning skills, and values through a process of study, practice,