Humanistic Learning Theory

Imagine waking up late for school because you do not have an alarm and your only

parent, your mom has already left for work. It is your job to wake, dress, and try to feed your

siblings. The walk to school is not long, but it is hot today. You enter the classroom late, sweaty,

and hungry because you let the younger kids eat more than you. You teacher instructs you to find

your seat and get out a pencil for today’s lesson. Despite the stress of middle school and the

anxieties of making dinner and helping your siblings with homework, you try to focus. Except,

you forgot your backpack, not that it had pencils in it anyway.

Great teachers strive to incorporate a range of learning theories into their pedagogy.

Using multiple theories and techniques ensures that the different needs of students are being met.

Humanism surpasses good pedagogy and incorporates student emotion into instruction.

Humanism is the belief in the potential value and goodness of human beings. In praxis,

humanism is the dual focus on both the learner as a scholar and as an emotional being. This

complete view of the whole child allows for both the emotional and academic needs of the

learner to be addressed.

History of Humanism

Humanistic education is related to humanistic psychology and the human potential

movement. Alfred Alder (1927) and later Abraham Maslow (1943) spurred a movement

exploring the sides of human nature that were not addressed by current schools of thought such

as psychoanalysis, positivism, and behaviorism. Humanistic psychologists such as Maslow,

Rogers, Goldstein, and Fromm, were interested in human potential, creativity, love, self and self-

actualization and ego-transcendence (Sutich 1961). Presumptions of humanistic psychology lie

growth and satisfies common ideas of what it means to be human (McLeod 2015). Humanistic

principals can be applied to education through the humanistic learning theory.

Humanistic Learning Theory

Humanistic Learning Theory is an approach to education that includes a variety of skills,

both academic and success oriented while maintaining the humane aspects of education. In

addition to reading, writing, and mathematics, a humanistic approach to education also teaches

skills such as communication, problem solving, and introspection (Kirschenbaum 1982).

Humanistic education transcends academic and intellectual skills to incorporate the learner’s

emotions with “concern for personal development, self-acceptance and acceptance by others…

making students more and more human” (Khatib et al p. 45). Using introspective tools and

approaches, humanistic education facilitates students to develop a deeper understanding of self

and others. This understanding allows students to maximize their own potential, while respecting

the needs of others (Kirschenbaum 1982). Thus, humanistic education aims to educate the whole

person, both cognitively and emotionally.

Humanistic Learning Theory is not psychotherapy and is not religious. It is a research

proven educational approach that supports young children as they develop into active citizens in

a democratic society. There is no religious affiliation, though members of religious communities

do support humanistic education. Khatib, Sarem, and Hamidi (2013) explain that the humanistic

approach “emphasizes the importance of the inner world of the learner and places the

individual’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions at the forefront of all human development” (p. 45).

Additionally, many parents support humanistic education because of its strong sense of parental
involvement and advocacy (Kirschenbaum 1982). Humanistic education is inclusive of parents

and fosters a reciprocal relationship between educators and parents.

Paulo Feire believed in love not as the dramatic, cinematized love we witness in films,

but love as a force for empowerment and connection. In praxis, a pedagogy of love is more than

respect, care, and an interest in the wellbeing of students. It is a richer understanding of the

connection between loving the process of teaching, and in that, loving the process of student

learning (Darder 2015). Feire could be consider a humanist. Similarly, to Freire’s beliefs,

humanistic education defends students against injustices and objectification, placing the value of

human dignity over any ideologies. Freire believed that hegemonic practices in schools,

“interfere with cultivating and nurturing the political imagination, epistemological curiosity, and

the joy of learning necessary to our practice” (Darder 2015). Freire advocates for the demasking

of authoritarian pedagogies in hegemonic schools through deeper connection with mind-body-

spirit; an idea not unseen in humanistic practices.

Implications

“The greatest emancipatory potential that underlies a pedagogy of love is integral

enactment of our human faculties-body, mind, heart, and spirit-in our pedagogical and

political struggles to awaken critical consciousness.” (Darder 2015)

Humanistic educators strive to meet the needs of the whole child; cognitive, linguistic,

academic, affect, and emotional. In doing so, humanistic educators facilitate the development of

critical consciousness, allowing students to exercise free will, question hegemonic practices, and

develop a sense of self-awareness that propels both their academic and emotional growth.

Initially applied to second language teaching and learning, humanistic education is now a part of
many traditional private and public classrooms. Principles of humanistic learning theory include

student choice, intrinsic motivation, self-evaluation, a focus on affect and academics, and a safe

learning environment (WGU 2020).

This whole child approach centralizes students and their needs. In his hierarchy, Maslow

(1943) illustrated the needs of humans and elucidated that all needs must be met for learning and

self-actualization to occur. Thus, a student who is hungry, homeless, lonely, or ostracized cannot

place their full attention on learning. Humanistic educators attend to these needs by advocating

for meals, creating safe learning environments, and attending to both academic requirements and

emotional needs.

Conclusions

Humanistic learning theory addresses the whole learner, ensuring all needs of the

individual are valued. This encompassing approach sets students at the center of learning,

allowing them choice and agency in their education. Additionally, the fusion of attention to

emotion and academics allows for richer learning, leading to self-actualization and to a deeper

fulfillment of what it means to be truly human.

Darder, A. (2015). Pedagogy of Love: Embodying our Humanity. In Freire and education (pp.

95–109). essay, Routledge.

Khatib, M., Sarem, S. N., & Hamidi, H. (2012). Humanistic Education: Concerns, implications

and applications. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(1), 45–51.

https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.4.1.45-51

Kirschenbaum, H. (1982). What humanistic education is...and is not. Elementary School

Guidance & Counseling, 17(1), 25–27.

https://doi.org/http://www.jstor.com/stable/24008792

Sutich, A. (1961). Introduction. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 1(1), vii-ix.

https://doi.org/10.1177/002216786100100101

Western Governors University, W. (2020, July 21). What Is Humanistic Learning Theory in

Education? Retrieved November 25, 2020, from https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-

humanistic-learning-theory-education2007.html