Although I have studied Maslow in the past, when presented in the context of students belonging in schools, and therefore feeling a sense of community and being ready, willing and in the right ‘head space’ for learning – it gives Maslow’s theory a whole new perspective. It also makes perfect sense!
Image from Arthur family photos
Maslow’s Theory of the hierarchy of needs states that in order for an individual to achieve self actualization (pursue inner talents, creativity and fulfilment) they first need to have the lower order needs met, such as food, water, shelter, comfort, safety, security and freedom from fear. They are then able to move on to achieve a sense of ‘Belonging and Love’ and ‘Self Esteem’ (achievement, recognition and respect) which ultimately leads to ‘Self Actualization. Maslow believes that unless lower order needs are met, higher order needs will never be achieved.
Many women can relate to this… “Most dieters engage in a form of self-talk (reinforced by weight loss commercials) that is totally consistent with the inverted hierarchy of needs in that they say, "If I lose 50 pounds and go from a size 16 to a size 10 (achievement), then I will feel better about myself (self-esteem), and perhaps then I will be able to regain the lost romance in my marriage (belonging)." Kunc, N, 1992.
Another very good illustration of the damage done by not feeling a sense of belonging is illustrated in this extract from Kunc’s article.
“When youths join gangs, their physiological needs are met: food, shelter, warmth, and their quasi-physiological needs, such as sex, heroin, and crack, also are met. Youths are provided with a sense of safety in the knowledge that if they are ever harmed by another individual or group, the other gang members will retaliate viciously against those who caused the harm. Moreover, youths are given a strong sense of belonging within the gang, and in this environment the belonging is not based on achievement but instead on simply "wearing one's colors." After passing a one-time initiation ritual, the sense of belonging provided by gangs is extremely close to unconditional. And given this almost unconditional acceptance and inclusion within a gang, the youths' feelings of self-worth naturally flourish. Anchored in this newly found sense of inclusion and self-worth, many youths begin to focus in those areas in which they excel, such as the criminal code (with all of its technicalities and loopholes), karate, stealing BMWs, extortion, and so on.”
Kunc goes on to say that “Belonging is no longer an inherent right of being human. And our schools, being a reflection of society, perpetuate this belief”.
It sounds over simplified to say, however if the youths described above had been able to feel a sense of belonging in school, they may have focussed their considerable talents on more valuable and constructive past-times.
Hence the key word for me in this article is belonging.
The lack of 'belonging' seems to be responsible for the perpetuation of any number of problems in schools and society at large, including the rise and rise of the multi-million dollar weight loss and fitness industry, problems with drugs and violence on the streets and in our communities, increases in suicide rates among young men in particular, and many other of societies ills.
This builds a strong argument for managing diversity, in all its forms, in the classroom, school and school community as a whole. We as learning managers will need to ‘walk the walk and talk the talk’ and be models of inclusive behaviour.
For example, give praise to a child in class who has come up with a quirky, unusual idea that doesn’t fit the 'normal' mould, incorporate children with disabilities and focus on their strengths and what they can do and can contribute rather than what they can’t.
Kunc, N. 1992, particularly focuses on and advocates against the self-contained classroom for children with disabilities and special needs. By reading this article and looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs I can see that this makes perfect and logical sense. As Kunc states,
“The tragic irony of self-contained classrooms is that as soon as we take away students' sense of belonging, we completely undermine their capacity to learn the skills that will enable them to belong. Herein lies the most painful "Catch-22" situation that confronts students with disabilities -- they can't belong until they learn, but they can't learn because they are prevented from belonging. This injustice is compounded by the fact that the lack of progress in a segregated class is seen as further evidence to justify the need for segregation”.
Let’s value the contributions of others and foster the appreciation of diversity in the classroom as it is representative of the real world in which we all live.
Let’s embrace the beauty of our individualism as it adds colour to our world.
As my husband says to me – “it’s lucky we’re not all perfect like you or what a boring place this world would be!" (He does love me really!).
Currently there is a media focus on violence in schools, school gangs, bullying (cyber and traditional) unmanageable classroom behaviour and other ‘problems’ with the school system in general. The latest event being a 12 year old child stabbed to death at the hand of a 13 year old fellow pupil in a seemingly well off and supportive school environment. I wouldn’t mind betting that once the media hype dies down and the real truth of this tragic event unfolds, at the heart of the matter may be bullying and a feeling of not belonging.
As Kunc concludes, “It may be wise to pause, if only for a moment, to consider that our social malady may stem not from the lack of achievement, but from the lack of belonging".
So - How can I ensure all of my students are ready to learn?
Firstly, I think we as teachers and future teachers need to get to know our students on a personal level in order to understand what is going on for them. We may have eaten breakfast after a good nights sleep, however many students have not. Hence the reason some schools offer breakfast for students.
Secondly, I think we need to identify those students whose basic physiological and safety needs are not being met and do what we can to alleviate these issues. This is really an issue for teachers, schools and the school community as a whole, but we as learning managers play an important role in identifying these issues and bringing them to the fore.
Thirdly, we as teachers/learning managers need to encourage diversity, foster a sense of belonging and even go so far as to celebrate our differences and make them into a positive, learning opportunity. We also need be models of desirable behaviours that foster a sense of belonging in the classroom.
Once again it comes down to effective learning design that caters for the diverse needs of all students in the class and in this way, fosters a sense of ‘I can do it’, ‘I’m making a valuable contribution’ and ‘I belong’.
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