Emerging as a reaction to the psychoanalytical theories of the early 20th century, Humanism is a pedagogical approach which takes into consideration the whole child, including their mental well-being and sense of self. They saw the psychoanalytical approaches as essentially negative and likely to label students with terms which did not always take into consideration the possibility of change or development.

Humanists also questioned the concept of rewards for good behaviour (and a lack of reward for behaviour which was seen to be reprehensible). To them, the human mind is more complex than this approach suggests. To reward a dog for learning to sit when it is told to do so is very different to rewarding a student for writing a neat piece of work with the intention of encouraging them to do it again. Humanists believe we are thinkers and we can see through or choose to challenge this approach.

More important to the Humanists is the need to understand the reason for the bad and good behaviour and to question the impacts of environment or family and society on the student which makes them behave as they do.

Following the significant research of Abraham Maslow, Humanist demands that educators see students as innately good. In order to manage behaviour or learning which is not ideal, we need to identify the causes of the behaviour and create a learning environment in which the student feels supported, understood and liked.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of ideas

As a humanist psychologist, Maslow was interested in the concept of success and self-achievement: what makes successful people successful. Is it nurture or nature, environment or conditioning?

He studied the lives and works of several successful people including Gandhi, Lincoln, Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt and theorised that they shared certain similar traits and characteristics. They were comfortable with themselves, were caring and compassionate, creative and able to act spontaneously.

Maslow called the moment of success ‘self-actualisation’ and it is interesting that this phrase which implies success and fulfilment includes the word ‘self’. This is an achievement which meets both their own and others’ sense of success.

He conceptualised this theory as a pyramid which you can see below. Basic or common needs form the bottom layer of the pyramid and each layer needs to be fulfilled before the individual can move up to the next layer. Those who reach the top he described as ‘self-achievers’ or ‘self-actualisers’ and he analysed what personality traits or characteristics might allow this level to be reached.

 

Characteristics of self-actualisers

• Willingness to accept that change is not always possible
• Spontaneity
• Active problem solvers
• Realists…
• …but with a sense of what has been described, a mission, and the accompanying sense of spiritual calmness when this is achieved
• Acceptance of others
• Ability to form strong and loving relationships
• Resourceful
• Independent: not reliant on the approbation of others

Criticisms

Maslow’s subset was not scientifically chosen, so it may be difficult or wrong to impose this theory on humans. His methodology was unscientific and lacks empirical data. It was mainly based on people’s biographies, often written after they had passed away.

The Hierarchy is also open to the criticism that it is not culturally representative and therefore cultural and social factors are not taken into consideration.

A focus on the internal workings or mindset of oneself might not always be conducive to developing a healthy working relationship with others.

Lastly, there is an association that students will only ‘act out’ or play up during their learning because they have low self-esteem. It does not account for disinterest or frustrations caused by a lack of power in some educational settings.  There is an underlying premiss that all students who have high self-esteem will be cooperative, motivated and ready to engage in their education.

What would a pure Humanist tutor do?

Humanist tutors would focus and shape their tutoring sessions on a clear understanding of the importance of the encouragement of self-esteem. Teachers would be acutely aware of any physiological or safety concerns associated with their students and actively work through constructive praise and encouragement of a sense of respect to others in order to boost a sense of self-worth, thus allowing the learning process to function.

Humanist tutors would also be aware of the fluctuations of students’ emotional states and therefore their potential for learning, not seeing this as a fixed state, but part of a continuum which moves forward and backwards.

And at the core of humanist tutoring would be actively promoting the concept that students can achieve; that learning is an individual process which moves at different speeds for all learners.

Behaviour would always been seen as communication, punishments and reprehensions would be replaced with unconditional positive regard and a genuine desire to help the student become happier and have greater self-esteem within their educational worlds.

Thematic application

Intelligence/mindset:

Humanism at its core is about the student’s and tutor’s mindsets.

Discovery/instruction

Humanism is essentially a discovery approach. There is considerable potential for independent learning, the only instructions tutors would give is encouragement, praise and a self-esteem building exercises approach.

Active/Passive learning

This doesn’t really apply here as it is not the quality of the tutoring and the learning that is essential, what is essential is that the tutor enables the child to feel competent and to know they can achieve. The student has to go through an inner process of developing core self-belief with a tutor’s support. So, the facets of ‘learning’ are a little incidental.

Atomisation/application

The Humanists would argue that a student’s self-belief is building slowly and incrementally towards a whole sense of self that is positive and healthy, thus individual building blocks which lead to understanding of a broader concept.