The Humanistic Theory in Education

Humanistic Learning
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Theory in Education
by: JEDDAHLYN A. RAMOS

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The Humanistic Theory In Education
 The humanistic theory of teaching and

learning is an educational theory that
believes in teaching the ‘whole’ child. A
humanist approach will have a strong
focus on students’ emotional wellbeing
and eternally view children as innately
good ‘at the core’.
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 This theory states that the student

is the authority on how they learn,
and that all of their needs should be
met in order for them to learn well.
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 its main focus is based on the

human generation of
knowledge, meaning and
expertise, and believes that
students should be able to
choose what they learn
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Origins Of Humanist Education
 Humanists argued that people

should stop seeing learners as
‘defunct’ or ‘in deficit’. Instead,
humanists focused on how we could
help learners bring out the best in
themselves.
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Origins Of Humanist Education
 humanism rejected the

assumption that learners
were easily controlled by
rewards and punishments.
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The humanistic learning theory
 It was developed by
Abraham Maslow and
Carl Rogers, in the early
1900’s.
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Abraham Maslow
 was an American psychologist who developed

a hierarchy of needs to explain human
motivation. His theory suggested that people
have a number of basic needs that must be met
before people move up the hierarchy to pursue
more social, emotional, and self-actualizing
needs.
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Abraham Maslow
 His theories—including the

hierarchy of needs,
self-actualization, and
peak experiences—became
fundamental subjects in the
humanist movement.
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Peak Experiences
 The term "peak-experience" was used

by psychologist Abraham H. Maslow
(1908–1970) to refer to states of unitive
consciousness, or "moments of highest
happiness and fulfillment," in people's
lives.
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Carl Rogers
 Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was a humanistic

psychologist who agreed with the main assumptions
of Abraham Maslow. However, Rogers (1959) added
that for a person to "grow", they need an
environment that provides them with genuineness
(openness and self-disclosure), acceptance (being
seen with unconditional positive regard), and
empathy (being listened to and understood).
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Carl Rogers
 believed that humans have one

basic motive, that is the tendency to
self-actualize - i.e., to fulfill one's
potential and achieve the highest
level of 'human-beingness' we can.
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Here’s an overview of Rogers’ key
concepts:
 Actualizing
Tendency: According to
Rogers, we all have a
tendency to strive toward
personal growth.
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Rogers’ key concepts:
 Freedom to learn: Rogers write the

book Freedom to Learn which outlines
how it is important for students to be
freed from the constraints of a school
curriculum in order that they can be free
to explore things they are interested in.
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 Unconditional positive
regard: Rogers believes that
we can help students achieve
stronger self-esteem by
unconditionally seeing students
in a positive light.
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 Facilitation: Because humanists don’t

believe there should be a set curriculum or
learning outcomes, teachers become
facilitators rather than authority figures.
Teachers encourage students to seek new
knowledge and provide the materials and
support needed.
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 Intrinsic motivation: Rogers
believes schools have
historically repressed intrinsic
motivation that we all had
before we went to school.
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 “I become very irritated with the notion that students must be

“motivated.” The young human being is intrinsically motivated
to a high degree. Many elements of his environment constitute
challenges for him. He is curious, eager to discover, eager to
know, eager to solve problems. A sad part of most education
is that by the time the child has spent a number of years in
school this intrinsic motivation is pretty well dampened.”
(Rogers, as cited in Schunk, 2012, p. 355).
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Assumptions Of Humanism
• Free Will: We have free choice to do and think

what we want;
• Emotions impact Learning: We need to be in a
positive emotional state to achieve our best;
• Intrinsic Motivation: We generally have an
internal desire to become our best selves;
• Innate Goodness: Humans are good at the core.
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Strengths of humanism in education
include:
 Unlike many theories that

attempt to diagnose
weaknesses, humanism sees
the best in everyone and works
hard to promote it;
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include:
• It is an empowering
philosophy that sees
young people as powerful
and capable;
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include:
 It considers emotional states

and how they impact
learning, unlike many other
theories;
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include:
 It is holistic, meaning it sees the ‘whole

child’. It will look at cognitive, social and
emotional aspects meaning it has many
pedagogical overlaps with cognitive and
social constructivist theories, but also
adds the ‘emotional’ elements;
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Weaknesses of humanism in
education include:
 It does not follow a set curriculum.

This aspect of humanism may be
incompatible with contemporary
schools which usually have a
standardized curriculum that
students need to learn from;
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education include:
 If it were implemented in schools, every

student would leave school having
different knowledge. Sometimes
students need to learn things like
mathematics even if they don’t have
intrinsic desire to learn about it!
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education include:
 Some students require structure

and routine to learn effectively.
With its emphasis on choice-based
learning, aspects of humanism may
not work well for such students.
Basic principles of humanistic education
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• Students' learning should be self-directed.
• Schools should produce students who want and know

how to learn.
• The only form of meaningful evaluation is self-
evaluation.
• Feelings, as well as knowledge, are important in the
learning process.
• Students learn best in a nonthreatening environment.
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Generalization
 Humanism believes that a learner is free-willed,

fundamentally good, and capable of achieving
their best when the ideal learning environment
is produced. The ideal learning environment
should caters to the social, emotional and
cognitive needs of the learner (Crain, 2009;
Duchesne et al., 2013; Veugelers, 2011).
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What are the main principles of humanistic education?

What are the main principles of humanistic education?

What are some strengths of the humanistic approach according to the text?

What are some strengths of the humanistic approach according to the text?

Humanistic Learning

by: JEDDAHLYN A. RAMOS

 The humanistic theory of teaching and

 This theory states that the student

 its main focus is based on the

 Humanists argued that people

 humanism rejected the

 was an American psychologist who developed

 His theories—including the

 The term "peak-experience" was used

 Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was a humanistic

 believed that humans have one

 Freedom to learn: Rogers write the

 Facilitation: Because humanists don’t

 “I become very irritated with the notion that students must be

• Free Will: We have free choice to do and think

 Unlike many theories that

 It considers emotional states

 It is holistic, meaning it sees the ‘whole

 It does not follow a set curriculum.

 If it were implemented in schools, every

 Some students require structure

• Students' learning should be self-directed.

• Schools should produce students who want and know

 Humanism believes that a learner is free-willed,

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