Maslows Hierarchy of Needs - Essay Example

Title: Maslow’s need hierarchy theory and its usefulness when working with children and young people Your name: Institution name: Date: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one the content theories of motivation in the human context. Abraham Maslow proposed a positive theory based on his studies of successful people that included his own mentors. His criticism was in the traditional psychological methods of developing theories on dysfunction people; hence he developed a theory based on the concept of self-actualization. He classified his theory in two parts i.e. the different human needs and the relationship between the different classes. The first class is the general satisfaction of basic needs also referred as physiological needs i.e. food, shelter and clothing. The next motivator is safety e.g. job security. Humans desire to be secure physically and even psychologically. The third level is social needs. This entails belonging, being loved and acceptance in a group. The next level is esteem needs e.g. gaining respect from others, recognition for a job well done and finally the self-actualization level where the extent of success and achievements in life are the main measures (James W.2010). This analysis attempts to explain how the motivational theory can be used when working with children and young people in the society. The Hierarchy of Needs gives a clear explanation of the needs of children and young people in the society. This helps them to be comfortable in their natural set up/ environment, and internally. At the first level, every child needs physical requirements. These needs are rather simplistic i.e. they allow the child or the young people to be comfortable, without being hungry, or even thirsty. A feeling of safety is the next progression. Children and young people desire a safe environment i.e. physical situation that in turn satisfies their emotions. The next level of social needs deals with the emotional fulfillment. The young people must feel loved and acceptable. They need the feeling that they can belong to a social group giving them comfort within their surroundings.  Once they position themselves in a social group, there is the desire to be recognized within the group. Comfort is only achieved if there is acceptance and further recognition. The young people are by this stage accustomed to their surroundings and their acquaintances. This must follow the process of accustoming themselves to knowledge, through learning, knowing, and understanding. This is gives the aesthetic part of any child's or any young person’s needs. To become self-fulfilled, they must do so by realizing their sense of being. This is achieved when they understand who they are through acquiring knowledge by learning. To achieve all these needs, it is necessary to incorporate group activity in classrooms, circle time and even individual attention in the daily endeavors. If one level is weak within the young people, then it is difficult to proceed to the next level. There is therefore, need for educators to learn the skills that will steer these individuals to the highest level of the hierarchy (Lou, 2011). The theory covers all environments i.e. at home, school and in the community. Teachers need to learn the motivators of every student and then proceed to individualize these to attain their goal in effective learning. At the home set up, parents and guardians are among the worst developers and shapers of the child’s behavior. This has been found out to be the cause of violence amongst the adolescents and abuse of drugs in later years. The lack of proper knowledge in shaping a child’s behavior towards progression in life hinders achievement up the needs hierarchy (National Community Education Association, 1980). The community setting to any young person should give a sense of belonging there and accepted. A good example is in the racist communities. Any young person living in such an environment where other children pick on him would be less motivated ((Ted and Barbara, 2010). The responsibility would then be to find ways to help such a person to feel accepted. In schools, educators need to understand that every child matters thus attention should be given according and equally. Every students needs to feel safe, be healthy, make contributions in life, enjoy and even become an achiever in school and later in life. To impact life survival skills in children and the young people, motivation along the way is highly recommended especially in their emotions. The growing stages come along with different moods that easily demoralize a child. Some may feel they are not loved; they are not wealthy, unworthy and so on(Duane and Sydney,2005). The circle of courage was developed in Canada as one of the ways to apply the motivational theory. It primarily represents four ideas. These are belongingness, independence, mastery and generosity (Van et al,2000). The aspect of belonging entails being loved, having trust, friends and even attachment. This is achieved when the educators reward or recognize strengths and talent in a person, focusing on shaping behavior, not the person and even moral encouragement. This can be achieved by having mentors in schools to always share their experiences giving hope to young people. This gives the ways that have been practically used to attain success in life. Counselors should also be encouraged here to deal with the young people going through tuff and stressful situations in life. Independence is achieved through giving leadership roles to young people, helping them to be responsible, having inner-control, confidence in what they undertake in life and even self-discipline. This is achieved through involving young people in the process of decision making; availing a variety of activities so that students can pick from and be independent and creative. Acknowledging of their behavior and the consequences of the same is still highly recommended also (Duane and Sydney,2005). Mastery of skills comes in when the student learn to be successfully, achievers, problem solvers, very creative and even persistent. Educators can achieve this by allowing students to be achievers. This is by acknowledging strengths in young people and further teaching ways to improve their skills e.g. making goals in life, taking on challenging tasks etc. The children and the young people need to be highly motivated to persist in learning and even facing every day of life (Rick, 2011). The final aspect is generosity. This is attained through relationships. Every educator be it the teachers, parents or even the community at large, needs to shape behavior of a good relationship. This entails respect, loyalty, kindness, caring, sharing, unselfish, supportive and even socialization. These good attributes in the young people builds up self-esteem and encourages an attitude of proper learning. The young people should be taught how to be excellent communicators and listeners, how to share their opinion in a diplomatic way, engage themselves in community work and be cooperative in life (David and Christi, 2011). Wisdom gained through the learning stages in life leads to self-actualization in later years. The needs according to Maslow do not have to be achieved in that systematic manner. Two or more levels can be achieved simultaneously. Basic needs can be combined with safety and belonging. The highest levels in the hierarchy can otherwise be achieved effectively once the first three are attained. One cannot have self-esteem and he lacks mere basic needs. It is thus important to individualize on the young people to determine their background, social status, upbringing and even the living condition (David and Christi 2011). If a child goes through a process of parent’s separation, this will wreck her life if not properly addressed. The counseling aspect comes in and even support in school from peers and teachers. Behavior is learnt and can easily be repeated in life of the young people. Educators need to explain the reasons of the course of situation, turns and events of daily endeavors. Conclusion According to Maslow’s theory, the first level of satisfaction is mainly borne by the guardian. They have the responsibility to provide what the youngsters should eat, what to wear and a home to live. The next level of safety is achieved at home, in schools and in the community. The state should provide security to its people, the guardian should give a welcoming and loving attitude to this group, and finally the school shapes the character. The teachers use the above ways to transmit knowledge to young people and children that is useful in life. Theoretical concepts have never been enough unless done practically. There is therefore, the need to be a role model to this group. ‘Teach by example and the results are better felt’. If an educator has a low esteem, he cannot be able to instill high self-esteem in his students. Through the basic knowledge learnt, the young people are then taught to be persistent in applying it in life. A lot of encouragement and motivation steers the youngster to becoming achievers in life. The role play in attaining the five levels of needs is an ongoing process and quite involving. Teachers, parents and the other mentors in the society should work hand in hand with the aim of achieving the highest learnt levels. A collective effort is thus encouraged- teacher to student, student to student, parent to student and society to the student. Reference: David B. and Christi B. (2011), Child and Adolescent Development in Your Classroom: Whatās New in Education Series, Cengage Learning, United States. 21,256 Duane P. S. and Sydney E. S.(2005),Theories of personality, 8th Ed., Cengage Learning, Australia, 311-316 James W. (2010), Introduction to Psychology: Available Titles CourseMate Series, 9th Ed., Cengage Learning, 378 Lou A. J. (2011) Teaching Outside the Box: How to Grab Your Students By Their Brains, 2nd ED., John Wiley and Sons, United States. National Community Education Association, 1980, Community education journal, Volumes 8-10, National Community Education Association Rick B. (2011) Educational Psychology Casework: A Practice Guide, 2nd Ed.Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Routledge, 80. Ted C. and Barbara K. (2010), Helping Children and Young People with Complex Behavioural Difficulties: A Guide for Practitioners Working in Educational Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Routledge, 57. Van B, S , Brendtro, L K, and Brokenley M. (2000). Reclaiming youth at risk: our hope for the future. Bloomington, IN: National Education Service. Read More