Elucidating Abraham Maslow and His Theory Learning theories influence today's instructional systems. Emerging studies point towards a dearth of efficiency in the educational systems. Apparently, humanistic psychology is a third force in most fields among them educational psychology (Gonzalez-DeHass & Willems, 2013). However, while the root of most pioneer and most recent approaches in education is humanistic psychology, there is a lack of a comprehensive humanistic learning theory. Therefore, numerous theorists have tried to explain how people learn, for instance, constructivists, humanists, cognitivists, and behavioralists. The following study focuses on Maslow's concept of humanism learning theory which holds that learning is intrinsic and its goal is to generate some aspect of self-actualization.

Humanistic learning theory is a concept popularized by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, which highlights the human capacity for growth and choice (Poetter et al. 2004). Here, the basic assumption is that human beings possess free will and cannot be fated to behave as zombies or in specific ways blindly reacting to the environment. This theory posits that the psychology or the object matter is the subjective human experience of the world (how we experience things) and why we experience these things. The humanistic perspective looks at human behavior not only via the angle of the observer but also via the angle of the individual doing the behaving. Therefore, humanistic theorists claim that a person's behavior is directly linked to his self-image and inner feelings.

Maslow's humanistic theory is an influential concept that continues to affect most psychological fields such as education. Although critics cite the absence of empirical evidence for his theory, Maslow's arguments have triggered studies that reflect the higher order needs of human beings. His ideas offer physiological and philosophical frameworks for new educational paradigms. Maslow has applied his motivation theory in education through motivating students. In fact, Poetter et al. (2004) believed that Maslow's idea is the most dynamic and holistic as it offers the best guidelines to explain student motivation. According to Gonzalez-DeHass & Willems (2013), Maslow's idea is relevant and holistic to various current educational problems. Additionally, Maslow was curious to discover his theory in education. He writes, "I am now very busily occupied in trying to catch up with all the epiphenomena of this notion of intrinsic education" (Maslow, 2012).

Literature Review

Rogers and Maslow pioneered the humanistic theory movement based on Maslow's "pyramid of needs." According to Maslow (2012), meeting the needs in the appropriate hierarchy allows people to become self-actualized thus become fully able people. Therefore, only by meeting the basic psychological needs like food and shelter can individuals proceed to the next stages, the need to be loved and to feel secure. He advanced the humanistic learning theory not by observing mentally ill patients but by observing healthy, creative and productive people's lives and careers. He argues that there are shared features that are common in successful people such as openness, self-acceptance, and respect for others.

Besides Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Rogers adds that for an individual to develop completely, they must be in an environment that serves them with acceptance, genuineness, and empathy. Mangal (2007) reinforces this argument by citing that without such a nourishing environment, healthy relationships and personalities would be impossible to flourish. Rogers believes that individuals who are limited by their environmental perceptions in which they exist have a debilitating impact on how they might see their potential. Nevertheless, if people can overcome the faulty perceptions of their environment, then, they can start to acknowledge their potential to grow. As such, these individuals might take steps and processes towards achieving the end (Mangal, 2007). It seems that Rogers is strongly advocating that a growing person must be aware of his progress regarding acceptance of oneself and ongoing internal change.

Legge and Harari (2000) argued that the humanistic learning theory was largely related to the basis and development of human nature. They think that humanism is natural reality and not social reality. Human beings are characterised by nature, which forms the ground for human nature. All living species have an internal tendency, meaning they develop their individual potentials by applying a method that can help to sustain and empower the organism itself. Their emphasis is that their potential energy decides the basic needs of human beings. However, they similarly argue that the nature of human nature differ from the natural belonging of animals. Naturally, human beings have instinctive-need, which differs from animal's instincts. These needs include self-actualization, belonging, safety and psychological needs. Such needs are deemed the basic needs of inherence: the humanistic theory argues that the instinctive need can only be natural.

The assumption is that developing freely cannot be influenced externally. A 'character' that makes individuals must have the courage to attempt some unknown/new things. This means that the teaching procedure should foster a safe psychological surrounding in which students may set out their internal potentiality. Looking at traditional education methods, Poetter et al. (2004) reveal that teachers concentrate on transferring the knowledge of the book thus they end up teaching the textbook. Poetter et al. (2004) add that under such an education model, teaching well is regarded as the premise of learning well. As such, to attain progress in teaching, instructors must not only research on how they can teach well but also how the students can learn well. In the groundbreaking teaching process, Maslow emphasizes the essence of his theory as an antecedent to development. For students to learn well, the teachers must give them chances to develop freely (Mangal, 2007). This means that in the teaching process, the teacher can allow students to use numerous learning resources like the internet and useful websites. Such could prove useful for learning; both the teaching and the learning process will be interesting and vivid.
A key contribution of Maslow's humanistic approach is the idea of self-actualization (Legge & Harari, 2000). The underlying tenets of self-actualization often support Freud's groundbreaking work in the development of the psychoanalysis discipline. Further, it follows the notion that human beings are driven by a desire to achieve something beyond the mere responses to situations. Therefore, a self-actualized individual would have the capacity to take a step back from a situation at hand and behave as different to their qualms and characteristics. Obviously, though Maslow's theory has received massive criticism over the years, it still serves a sufficient framework for dissecting human behavior.

Mangal (2007) claimed that his main contributions of his humanistic ideas are the notion of personality. He argues that the human personality is rooted in the concept that a certain degree of incongruence exists between the idealized and the self-persecution by the societal standards. These are always discordant with an individual's biological needs. The core of Roger's idea is the belief that connections between persons could be discussed from the angle of a congruent individual who discovers his potential against a closed person who displays hostility towards other people.

Personal Reflections

From my understanding, Maslow's humanistic learning theory is a reaction to an education system that is viewed as dehumanizing and a collection of learning conditions that most consider inhumane. Whereas the theory is essential in understanding and ranking the human needs that have to be satisfied first, it is subjective in its classification. In many learning institutions, students are always:

Encouraged to be passive learners

Pushed to learn things that are irrelevant or do not connect to their lives

Manipulated by competition and fear of failure

Expected to subscribe to traditional societal views and values as well as

Treated as objects without intuition and emotions

The humanistic learning theory serves an alternative to the historical, educational model where students are treated as products by being sent through a 13-year weighing belt. In such educational models, standards have become synonymous with standardization because all learners are forcefully fed the same curriculum. Similar skills and facts are attached to all learners as they march quietly along pre-determined steps like vehicles being inspected within the assembly line. It is clear that some aspect of control, uniformity, and efficiency between the teachers and learners are emphasized over the need freedom, creativity, individuality, and innovation. Therefore, teaching the curriculum becomes more crucial that educating the child. The educational system then values traits that can be quantified and measured over intuition, inspiration, and creativity. Surprisingly, because they are difficult to quantify and measure, the last three traits receive no or if any, minimal attention in the traditional education curriculum.

Conclusion

The contributions by Maslow in the field of human learning and development have been instrumental in fostering our understanding on how people can be assisted to learn. The satisfaction of some essential needs coupled with societal help and the existence of a perfect learning environment influences one's ability to learn and retain new concepts. Nonetheless, curriculums must be devised in ways that satisfaction among all stakeholders is attained.

References

Gonzalez-Dehass, A. R., & Willems, P. P. (2013). Theories in Educational Psychology: Concise Guide to Meaning and Practice. Lanham:…