COURSE WORK
Humanistic approach in psychology and its application in social work
Introduction
Chapter I. Humanistic context of psychological assistance in social work
1.1 Use of C. Rogers’ client-centered approach in social work
1.2 Helping social work clients within the framework of the motivational-need theory A.G. Maslow
1.3 The importance of existential psychology in social work
Chapter II. Empirical basis for using a humanistic approach in social work
Conclusion
Literature
Application
Introduction
Psychology occupies one of the most important places in providing social work. It provides a huge variety of techniques used to solve social work problems. For example, there are methods of social learning that focus on behaviorist theories; theories such as psychoanalytic, cognitivist and many others are also used. But in this work, attention is directed to the humanistic approach in social work. Naturally, the psychological foundations of social work are formed by personality theory. Social work is closely connected not only with the typification of personalities, but also, accordingly, with the theoretical foundations of certain approaches.
Target The work consists of analyzing the humanistic approach in psychology from the point of view of its application in social work.
To achieve this goal, the following can be distinguished: tasks :
1) analyze various humanistic theories from the point of view of their application in social work;
2) conduct a study to determine the type of personality orientation among students studying in the specialty “social work”;
3) describe and explain the results obtained.
As hypotheses Throughout the work, it was suggested that the use of a humanistic approach in social work is important and justified, especially when working with people who find themselves in so-called “borderline situations”.
The world has accumulated enormous experience in social work with people in “borderline” situations. There is also considerable domestic experience (both pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods). And practice shows that social workers are often faced with problems that they cannot solve within the framework of an approach other than a humanistic one. Because clients of social workers are precisely in borderline situations where human existential needs are actualized. Thus, in modern society, the themes of death, meaning, responsibility, etc. play a leading role precisely in the context of social work.
The primary task of the social worker is to understand people whose thoughts and feelings - under the influence of personal and social experiences - have turned mainly to the problem of the meaninglessness of life. This happens not only in cases of social pathology (paranoid obsession with the idea of suicide), but also in situations that not so rarely befall generally healthy people: in situations of conflicting choice, despair, confrontation with death.
Existential and humanistic psychology justifiably proceed from the fact that proximity, the threat of death most often makes people think about the meaning and content of their lives, “turn” from everyday life, from everyday life to being itself, to their own existence - an essence that is one with existence.
Within the framework of social work, a humanistic approach to clients is justified by the fact that a person in a borderline situation is closest to the moment of reassessing his life situation and realizing himself as subject activities. And a social worker working within the humanistic paradigm must show the client that there is no problem in which there would not be an invaluable gift for a person. And in the words of R. Bach we can continue that “You create problems for yourself because you desperately need these gifts.”
Chapter I. Humanistic context of psychological assistance in social work
“Remember where you came from and where you are going, and above all, think about why you created the mess you got yourself into.”
R.Bach
Humanistic psychology has many directions and modifications presented by various authors, but, in my opinion, they still have some invariant components connected by a single methodological core.
To begin with, we should highlight the main directions of humanistic psychology, which will be discussed below.
Firstly, the concept must be included in this direction Carl Rogers .
Secondly, humanistic psychology simply cannot be imagined without Abraham Maslow .
Thirdly, existential psychology deserves attention, one of the most prominent representatives of which is Irvin Yalom .
These, of course, are just some representatives of the humanistic approach in psychology, but I think that their contribution is most important for the formation of the most complete picture of the perception of this psychological paradigm.
From the point of view of humanistic psychology, the fundamental content of personality development is self-actualization, or, in other words, the full realization of the original potential. “Becoming and being yourself” is the psychological basis of human well-being. “Such well-being means being fully born, that is, becoming what a person potentially is.” The problem of “creating a good person” is the problem of “human self-evolution.” And its integral part is a person’s knowledge of himself. Maslow wrote that “we need a person who would be responsible for himself and his development, who knew himself thoroughly, was able to be aware of himself and his actions, and strived for the full actualization of his potential.” But, alas, this sounds rather ironic, especially in the context of social work. And what is important in this case is the characteristic subjective person's position. A person’s implementation of his own life as a chain of choices presupposes reliance on both internal guidelines and external conditions and circumstances. This is what is important for a social worker – to show the client the possibility of choice. A choice that is determined, first of all, by the client’s awareness of his situation and himself at a given moment in life and time. Bach’s statement that “Every person who appears in your life, all the events that happen to you, all this happens to you because you attracted them here is very appropriate here. And what you do with all this next, you choose yourself.” This idea may seem quite controversial, but this is not the main thing, the main thing is that the most fundamental expression of the disease of society is the phenomenon of alienation, which consists in the fact that a person does not feel like a subject of his own actions and from a unique and inimitable creator of his own life turns into “devoid of individual qualities.” a thing dependent on forces external to it.” Also, in his work, E. Fromm wrote that in fact most of what constitutes human consciousness is fiction and delusion; it is not so much a matter of a person’s inability to see the truth, but rather the influence of society on him.
1.1 Use of C. Rogers’ client-centered approach in social work
Within the framework of the humanistic approach, it is essential to highlight the concept K. Rogers. The main essence of his psychology lies in a personality-focused approach in which the individual is the controlling center for decision-making. At the heart of this approach is man, his purpose to live and act. According to Rogers, the core, the core of every person is constructive and, if an individual has a choice, she always chooses a positive path of development. And only on the basis of free individual choice can the self-motivating forces of personality development awaken and personal, individual subjectivity be formed.
From the point of view of this approach, the decisive role in the life and development of a person is played by his ideas about himself - the Self-concept, the central element of which is the concept of “self-worth”. All human behavior is conditioned and regulated by a certain unifying motive, which Rogers called trend of updating. It represents “the tendency inherent in the organism to develop all its faculties in order to maintain and develop personality.” Thus, the most important motive in a person’s life is to actualize, that is, to preserve and develop oneself, to maximally reveal the best qualities of one’s personality inherent in it by nature. A person is governed by a process of growth in which his personal potential is brought to realization. In addition, Rogers argued that this constructive biological tendency is common to all forms of life - it is inherent not only in people, not even only in animals, but in all living things. This is the essence of life!
Rogers believes that every person is initially motivated simply by living. Humanity is fundamentally active and self-actualizing by virtue of its own nature. It may seem that these ideas of Rogers are very utopian and have little reflection in the realities of life, and this will be quite justified. But from the point of view of applying Rogers' theory of client-centered psychotherapy in the practice of social work, the question that a person's behavior cannot be understood without referring to his subjective interpretation of events may be important. After all, if a social worker’s beliefs regarding the personality of another person, in particular a client, come down to the idea of him as an object that needs to be diagnosed and analyzed, an object that can be manipulated and disposed of at his own discretion, then the work of the social worker will cease to be effective, at least within the framework of a humanistic approach.
In the middle of the 20th century, a humanistic approach was formed as an alternative to psychoanalysis and behavioral psychotherapy. It is often considered as a “third way” of development of psychotherapeutic methods. The craving for humanistic ideas is due to the desire of some psychologists and therapists to find new explanatory models of mental pathologies and human healing.
Basic provisions of the humanistic approach
The crisis experience of the world wars, as well as the results of psychological research, revealed the limitations of mechanistic and biological strategies in explaining the nature of human behavior. Rigid determinism (predestination), previously used in explaining psychopathological and social phenomena, satisfied researchers less and less, and this prompted them to look for other explanatory strategies and ways of organizing therapeutic relationships. Humanism became one of these strategies.
The development of humanistic ideas in psychotherapy is associated with the figures of Gordon Allport (1897-1967), A. Maslow, C.R. Rogers, Rollo May (1909-1994), W.-E. Frankl, J., Bugental (1915-2008), etc. The humanistic movement was an attempt to show human life and behavior as a system in which subjective goals, values and meanings are decisive for the construction of life strategies and for all social interaction. In this regard, a person began to be interpreted as a “creature” that experiences, whose behavior is determined not by innate biological programs, instincts and unconscious aspirations, but by intentionality and sensuality, values, feelings and meanings.
Humanistic (lat. Humanus - humane) psychotherapy is a direction of psychotherapy based on an a priori positive sense of human nature and considers psychosomatic symptoms and psychological problems as a consequence of painful social influences and unfavorable developmental conditions.
Representatives of humanistic schools consider emotionally enriched, caring, friendly and equal psychotherapeutic relationships without taking into account the transference aspect to be the main corrective factor.
Humanistic psychotherapy views a person as a free being, capable of choosing ways to live his life. Taking this into account, representatives of the humanistic approach direct therapeutic efforts towards personal growth and actualization of the potential for self-healing rather than towards treating symptoms. The therapeutic goal is to achieve maximum awareness as an integral quality of human nature and a higher state of consciousness. Pathological reactions are interpreted as stages of psychological development of the individual.
One of the founders of the existential-humanistic approach to psychotherapy, J. Bugental, noted that the most important fact of human life is the subjective as an element that forms the diversity of a person’s intentions. The content of these intentions is a secret that the psychotherapist deals with at every meeting with a client. Therefore, the scope of psychotherapeutic efforts is a subjective sphere, and every therapeutic event that affects the client is a subjectively significant experience for him. Each person's intentionality is formed and manifested in its own way.
Intentionality (lat. Intentio- intention, desire, direction) - the basic sensotvirna orientation of consciousness towards the world, lies in the formative attitude towards the subject and the desire of the individual to realize his own intentions.
Intentional subjective meaning has characteristics that are significant for therapeutic analysis and existential assessment of personality:
1) plurality of meanings (polysemanticism)
2) incomplete compliance with verbalization. Only a part of these meanings can be expressed in speech; the majority exists as preverbal sensory constellations (groupings) associated with cognitive, affective and bodily processes that form the constant “source” of the formation and realization of human subjectivity;
3) turnover. The data of associated constellations do not have fixed boundaries, are in constant interaction and interplay, as a result of which the number of possible semantic combinations reaches infinity (which ensures the acquisition of meaning in any situation with adequate functioning of consciousness)
4) openness. The inner world of a person can be infinitely open to unconscious material, and therefore any meaning can be integrated and become part of conscious subjectivity.
The subjective dimension of a person is holistic, conflict-free and endowed with energy, encouraging it to self-development and self-transcendence, helping to overcome psychological crises. Subjective is an internal, special reality in which a person lives as authentically as possible. At the same time, the person is not isolated in his subjective world, but is always open to new experiences and the possibility of contact with other people. Developing these ideas, psychologists (E. Syutich, S. Grof, A. Watts, K. Wilbur) came up with the idea that the subjectivity of some people at a deep level is intertwined and closely connected with the subjectivity of others. The possibility of deep contact and mutual understanding between people opens up prospects for the further formation and development of a person, gives strength to overcome despair, anxiety and fear associated with the nature of existence.
Crises of a person’s presence in the world (existential crises) can deprive her of her sense of existential supports- a sense of reality determined by internal values, goals and meanings of life - as a result of which she feels helpless and is forced to look for new ways of existence. Psychotherapy helps to get through such crises, through an existential impasse accompanied by despair, and find new meanings in life.
One of the reasons for the difficulty/impossibility of overcoming hopelessness is the rigidity (inflexibility) of the patterns and scenarios by which the subject lives in the world. The system of internal boundaries encapsulates (separates) the subject, limiting the repertoire of his actions and reactions. A humanistically oriented therapist has the ability to notice and draw the client’s attention to such internal limitations, and also help to overcome them. One of the ways is to change the subject's ideas about himself and his own potential. Transformation concerns the following aspects of personality activity:
1) destructive and reducing constructs involved in the subject’s self-description;
2) restrictive individualism, which distances a person and isolates her from others, leads to the development of pathological loneliness and autistic person;
3) underdevelopment and limitation of reflexive functions, lack of common sense, calmness and confidence in actions;
4) blocked internal resources, lack of prospects and opportunities, narrow view of life.
The humanistic approach is total in nature and is based on ideas regarding the goals and objectives of psychotherapeutic work. His methodological positions can be summarized in the following main points:
1. A person is holistic, has internal unity, she is trustworthy, positive, realistic and strives to actualize her mental potential.
2. A person is unique, therefore, generalizations and absolutizations, expressed in the formulation of dominant and universal strategies of psychotherapeutic assistance, are impossible in psychotherapy; the value is human individuality.
3. The primary psychological reality is a person’s experiences, generalized in life experience.
4. A person’s life unfolds from meaninglessness and aimlessness to significance and meaning.
5. Negative experiences, neurotic reactions and mental limitations arise as a result of negative experiences; therapy opens access to blocked opportunities, ensuring personal growth of the individual.
6. Human life is the only orderly process aimed at realizing one’s own internal mental and spiritual potential (tendency towards actualization); this is possible and natural due to the availability of the experience of self-realization.
7. Human nature is indeterminate (unlimited) and spontaneous in its logic, which strives to achieve complete self-expression.
Representatives of many psychotherapeutic approaches of a humanistic orientation use these provisions as a system-forming principle.
The humanistic approach, developed on the basis of the personological concepts of A. Maslow, C. Rogers, V. Frankl, was implemented, first of all, in the specific practical methods of C. Rogers, who was actively involved in consulting and psychotherapeutic activities, as well as in the logotherapy of V. Frankl.
K. Rogers was the founder of person-centered (client-centered) counseling. The main goal of counseling is to relieve psychological problems of clients, eliminate barriers that prevent a person from living a full-blooded free life, being satisfied with his destiny, living in accordance with his inner human nature, and being a full-fledged person. This goal is specified in a number of specific tasks that are set during the consultation process. K. Rogers believed that “the effectiveness of counseling is determined, first of all, by the quality of interpersonal communication between the consultant and the client.” Therefore, in person-centered counseling, the process of communication between the consultant and the client, their thoughts and feelings, and not the use of some methods and techniques by the consultant, is of particular importance.
To change the negative perception of clients’ self-concept, their correction and rehabilitation, and restore congruence, the following six conditions are necessary: 1) there must be psychological contact between the consultant and the client; 2) the client must be incongruent and vulnerable or anxious; 3) the consultant must be “congruent or integrated into the relationship”; 4) the consultant “has an unconditionally positive attitude towards the client”; 5) the consultant must “empathically empathize with the client’s belief system and strive for this to the client”; 6) the consultant must be able to adequately convey to the client his empathic understanding of him and his unconditional positive attitude. The most important of these conditions - the consultant’s congruence, his ability to be open, transparent, sincere in a conversation with a client, to treat him not as an object, but as an equal participant in counseling, not to hide behind the mask of a specialist, to be able to share the client’s feelings and thoughts.
During the counseling process, the consultant and client can enter altered states of consciousness when an intuitive feeling of belonging to each other arises.
Describing this state, K. Rogers writes: “It seems that my inner spirit has reached out and touched the inner spirit of another person. Our relationship goes beyond its limits and becomes part of something larger. There is deep growth, healing and an influx of energy.”
Of course, a positive attitude presupposes a warm, caring attitude and respect from the consultant towards the client without “ifs”, that is, if he becomes smarter, more active, etc. However, there are limits to this relationship (for example, when the client physically threatens the consultant). The consultant should not approve of the client's negative actions. Of course, a positive attitude of a consultant is a strategy for the consultant’s behavior, suggesting that the client’s growth and development (correction and rehabilitation) directly depends on the client’s positive attitude towards the consultant.
Empathy, according to K. Rogers, an empathic attitude towards a client is “a feeling of the client’s inner world as if it were your own inner world,” but while maintaining the “as if” quality. Counselors must be sensitive to the flow of experiences that arise both in clients and in themselves at any given moment. An empathic attitude creates the necessary emotional climate in which clients can help consultants understand their world, emotions, and feelings. Consultants can inform clients about their understanding of their world, listen to their assessments and comments, and respond to them adequately and positively. Verbal and non-verbal means (facial expression, etc.) work here.
Here is an example of an interview C. Rogers conducted with one of his clients in 1983, who, according to her, had many problems because she sent her twenty-year-old daughter to college.
Rogers: ...You feel like it's slipping away from you, and you... and it hurts... and
Client: Yes. It's like I'm sitting here alone. You know, it’s like I feel like she’s gone, but I’m still here.
Rogers: Hmm-hmm. This is exactly what you are experiencing: she leaves the house, and you are here - completely alone.
Client: Yes. Yes. Yes. I feel really alone (crying).
The desire to establish a trusting relationship in a conversation between a consultant and a client based on the noted conditions evokes a corresponding positive reaction from the latter, setting both up on a wave of involvement, mutual trust, openness and sincerity. Gradually, clients begin to reveal themselves, share their innermost thoughts, achieve congruence and an altered state of consciousness and, on this basis, overcome their alienation, increase self-esteem, solve their psychological problems, and become a fully functioning person in their real life.
In conclusion, we note that K. Rogers believed that person-centered counseling can be used not only in individual work, but also in group meetings, in classroom training, in conflict resolution, and in the field of management.
Various approaches to psychoconsulting and psychotherapy, along with certain specific principles, include the use of a variety of correctional and rehabilitation techniques and means.
One of them is music therapy based on the ontopsychological approach. Music is a powerful means of influencing the psyche and affects a person’s well-being in different ways. Therefore, melodies are included in all psychological trainings. In ontopsychological music therapy by A. Meneghetti, music is considered as the basis of the semantics of a person’s inner “I”. This direction is aimed at healthy people, aimed at supporting their health, creativity, etc. The impact of music on the psyche is due to the fact that its structure is closest to the natural perception of a person, corresponds to the rhythm of the soul, experiences, emotions and feelings, and this does not depend on gender, education, mentality, nationality, or occupation. Music evokes deep musical responses in an unobtrusive way. It is a vital means of integration and communication. Music reflects certain life realities in a non-verbal way and enhances their emotional perception, affecting a person’s character.
Two main directions have developed in music therapy: 1) American - music is used as an auxiliary means of influencing the psyche, as a search for simple and complex musical forms that have an exciting and calming effect; 2) Swedish - under the influence of psychoanalysis, music is given one of the central roles here; it is believed that it can penetrate into the deeper layers (the unconscious). Currently
music is used in different functions: regulatory, reactive, communicative, cognitive, educational, recreational, etc.
In psychological counseling, music is used for education and correction of interpersonal relationships, to activate an individual’s self-awareness through means of self-expression. Music is actively used when a psychologist works with individual clients and with a group. Use cases: a) simple listening to music pre-selected for specific occasions; b) listening to music followed by discussion in a group (additions the socio-psychological effect); c) performance of music by subjects on instruments; d) singing; e) composing music; f) performing dances to music; g) the method of musical graphics - drawing to music, which activates independence, improves attention, memory, and has a calming and relaxing effect.
More on the topic Humanistic approach:
- Existential-humanistic approach to deviant behavior.
- 10. The concept of personality. Basic approaches to the study of personality (psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, activity). Personality structure.
The humanistic approach in psychology has not lost its relevance for more than fifty years. Probably the main reason for this is the special perception of each individual as a unique system that provides excellent opportunities for self-realization. But first things first.
The general characteristics of humanistic psychology, a brief history of its origin and main representatives, as well as the method of psychotherapy that was born thanks to this direction - these are the main aspects of our conversation today.
General information
Personality in humanistic psychology is not only a subject of research, but also a special value that must be treated with attention and respect. Self-realization, the desire for knowledge, mental health, duty, personal choice and responsibility for it are the most important elements of a full-fledged personality in humanistic psychology.
Humanistic psychology considers unacceptable the attitude towards the subject of research characteristic of the natural sciences, which was shared by some psychological schools. In such sciences, objects are studied that are devoid of reason and their own vision of the world, incapable of forming connections with other people and filling space and time with their own content.
A person has the power to evaluate each new situation, choose a model of behavior that suits it - in general, actively create and transform his own life. If a researcher does not take into account these fundamental differences between humans and other living organisms, then he significantly limits himself and cannot present a complete picture of the functioning of the human psyche.
Of course, humanistic psychology has been and is being criticized. First of all, the subjectivity of the direction raises questions, because, putting at the forefront the individual experience and individual judgment of the individual about himself, it is difficult to give an objective assessment of a person’s mental processes, and it is completely impossible to measure them quantitatively. Nevertheless, as the basis for a highly sought-after method of psychotherapy, humanistic psychology still remains relevant.
"Third Force"
In the West (and primarily in the USA, which was the main center of influence in the world of psychology at that time) after the Second World War, two psychological schools dominated: and (more precisely, later versions of these directions - neo-behaviorism and neo-Freudianism). Humanistic psychology developed as a response to these trends, whose approach to man it considered too simplistic. What kind of approach was this?
In most cases, behavior is determined by the expectation of positive reinforcement (gratitude, material rewards, positive reactions from others), but it can also be dictated by the desire to avoid negative things. Neobehaviorists have complicated this three-component structure and introduced intermediate factors that slow down, enhance or block reinforcement. Thus, not only the observed manifestations of behavior began to be analyzed, but also the mechanisms that regulate it.
Neo-Freudianism is a complex of movements that developed based on the ideas of Freud and his psychoanalytic theory. As is known, in classical literature unconscious drives were considered the driving force of human actions, with sexual energy playing the main role. Neo-Freudians did not deny the influence of the unconscious, but they considered the main source of personal conflicts not its confrontation with consciousness, but the influence of society.
The basic principles of humanistic psychology were formulated in 1963 by the first president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, James Bugental:
- A person is not a passive observer, but an active transformer of his life, possessing freedom of choice. The personality initially has development potential.
- The individual's experience is unique and valuable and cannot be analyzed by simply describing behavior and making generalizations.
- The study of individual mental processes does not provide a complete picture. Man must be studied as a whole that is greater than the sum of his parts.
- Man is naturally endowed with positive qualities, but displays negative ones because he has not revealed his true essence.
Client-centered therapy
The humanistic direction in psychology was initially focused more on practice than on theoretical research. This closeness to everyday life, to the needs of people, as well as a special attitude towards people, have become the main reasons for the popularity of the destination among a large number of people.
This attitude follows from the basic principles proclaimed by Bugental, but its active implementation in real consulting practice began with another specialist. Carl Rogers is the name with which humanistic psychology and humanistic psychotherapy acquired those fundamental features that to this day form their basis.
Back in 1951, when humanistic psychology was just beginning to make itself known, American psychologist Carl Rogers’ book “Client-Focused Therapy” was published. In it, Rogers expressed ideas that were seditious for that time: a directive approach to psychotherapy is ineffective, it is not the psychologist who acts as an expert and mentor for the person, but the person for himself.
What does this therapy involve? As already noted, humanistic psychology proceeds from the fact that man is a being by nature good, and not evil. However, all his positive qualities become visible in a special atmosphere of support and attention, which helps him reveal his positive essence. The psychotherapist must provide such an atmosphere, but the client helps himself, finds the answers himself and makes his own decisions.
How does the session work?
What principles, according to Rogers' ideas, should form the basis of the work of a psychotherapist?
- The most important thing is non-judgmental acceptance, in which the therapist allows the person to be himself, responds emotionally to what the client says, but does not give him any judgment.
- , that is, the ability to recognize what the client feels and put yourself in his place.
- The psychotherapist and the client are equal participants in the dialogue, and a strong psychological contact is established between them.
- - openness and spontaneity, honesty and sincerity, self-expression without fear. This manner of behavior should be characteristic of both the consultant and (after some time) the person being consulted.
Psychotherapy, which arose on the basis of the humanistic direction in psychology, still remains one of the most popular and sought-after areas of psychological counseling. It is especially indicated for people suffering from loneliness and experiencing an acute lack of understanding and empathy.
The client-centered approach helps in solving both internal and interpersonal problems. Its important feature is that the person himself makes a conclusion about whether he has achieved the desired goal, and, accordingly, he himself determines the duration of treatment. Author: Evgenia Bessonova
Humanism- a term introduced by the ancient Roman philosopher and orator Cicero and denoting humanity - a worldview based on the recognition of the value of man as an individual, his right to free development and manifestation of his abilities, the affirmation of the good of man as a criterion for assessing social relations. An approach- a set of techniques and methods in the study of any pedagogical problems. Upbringing- in a broad sense, a system of specially organized transmission from generation to generation of social experience and principles of human social formation; in a narrow sense - purposeful activity to develop in children moral and volitional personality traits, views, beliefs, moral ideas, certain habits and rules of behavior Upbringing- relatively meaningful and purposeful cultivation of a person in accordance with the specifics of the goals, groups and organizations in which it is carried out. Humanism- recognition of the value of a person as an individual, his right to free development and manifestation of his abilities. Affirmation of human welfare as a criterion for assessing social relations. Upbringing-in a broad sense, the function of society in preparing the younger generation for life, carried out by the entire social structure. In a narrow sense, a socially organized and controlled process of human formation, carried out by teachers in educational institutions and aimed at personal development. Humanism- a set of views that recognize the value of a person as an individual, his rights and the free development and manifestation of his abilities, regardless of social status.
The education model, which is based on the direction of humanistic psychology, developed in the 50-60s. XX century in the USA in the works of such scientists as A. Maslow, S. Frank, K. Rogers, J. Kelly, A. Combs and others.
The main concepts of humanistic pedagogy are “human self-actualization”, “personal growth”, “developmental assistance”. Each person is an integral entity, a unique personality. Personal behavior is determined not by reinforcement coming from the external environment, as behaviorism teaches, but by a person’s innate desire for actualization - the development of his natural abilities, the search for his meaning and path in life. Personality is understood as a complex autonomous system, characterized by direction, the will to positive activity and cooperation.
Self-actualization- this is the realization of oneself in activity, in relationships with people, in a full-blooded “good” life on a chosen and changing life path. This state is designated by K. Rogers with the concept of a “fully functioning person.” In the psychotherapy and pedagogy of K. Rogers, the psychotherapist and teacher must stimulate a person’s own strengths to solve his problems, not decide for him. Do not impose a ready-made solution on him, but stimulate his own work of personal change and growth, which never has limits.
The goal of training and education should not be the acquisition of knowledge as a set of knowledge of facts, theories, etc., but a change in the student’s personality as a result of independent learning. The task of school and education is to provide an opportunity for personal development, self-development, to promote the search for one’s individuality, and to help a person move toward self-actualization.
The teaching in which the student is interested, where there is not just an accumulation of facts, but a change in the student, his behavior, his “I-concept,” K. Rogers called “a teaching that is significant for a person” and believed that this is the only way it can be. He defined the following conditions under which it could take place.
1. During the learning process, students solve problems that interest them and are significant to them.
2. The teacher feels congruent with the students. In other words, he shows himself to be the person he is, expressing himself freely.
3. The teacher shows an unconditional positive attitude towards the student, accepts him as he is.
4. The teacher shows empathy for the student. The ability to penetrate his inner world, understand it, look through his eyes, while remaining himself.
5. The teacher plays the role of an assistant and stimulator of meaningful learning, must create psychological comfort and freedom for the student, i.e. teaching should be student-centered, not subject-centered. Within the framework of humanistic pedagogy, the educator must encourage students to make a moral choice by providing material for analysis. Educational methods include discussions, role-playing games, discussion of situations, analysis and resolution of conflicts. For parents and teachers, scientists of the humanistic school offer the following techniques in communicating with a child: I-statement, active listening, unconditional love for the child, positive attention to him, eye contact, physical contact.
Approaches to education
Personal (individual) approach to education- a follower-nose attitude of the teacher towards the pupil as an individual, as a responsible subject of his own development. It represents the basic value orientation of teachers towards the individual, his individuality, and the creative potential of the child, which determines the strategy of interaction. The personal approach is based on a deep knowledge of the child, his innate properties and capabilities, ability for self-development, knowledge of how others perceive him and how he perceives himself. The educational process includes situations specifically designed for the child’s personality, helping him to realize himself within the framework of school.
Activity approach in education gives a primary role to those activities that contribute to the development of the individual. It led to the development of a new system of education based on the idea of the unity of consciousness and activity.
Personal-activity approach to education means that the school must ensure human activity, the formation of personality.
Creativity puts the creativity of the teacher and the child at the forefront in the educational process.
Relational approach can be considered both within the framework of activity and independently. It is associated with the ideas of adjusting the relationships that arise in the joint activities and communication of children, their humanization with the help of specially created situations.
The event approach should also be considered as one of the aspects of the activity approach. Its point is to turn this or that planned event into something exciting for the whole team, to leave a bright mark in the memory of its participants.
Differentiated approach in the field of education- this is taking into account the individual interests of the children, their “leadership” capabilities, abilities to implement organizational functions in the team.
Value (axiological) approach sets the main task of education to master the values of universal human culture - spiritual and material.
The class approach, characteristic of a socialist society, sets the goals and principles of education depending on the social classes - the haves or the have-nots (hence the terminology “bourgeois education”, “Soviet education”).
Environmental approach has penetrated into pedagogy in recent years. Its meaning is the inclusion of the school in the environment from a pedagogically appropriate position and the inclusion of the environment in the school, mastering its connection with the implementation of set goals. The environmental approach to education is the integration of the influences of all educational tools of society within the framework of the environment, as a result of which a regional educational system may appear.
Methods of socially active education are distinguished:
Creation by students of various material and spiritual cultural values;
Children’s free choice of methods and forms of cultural life activity and life creativity;
Moral activities aimed at reviving national culture.
In accordance with the current law on education, a teacher now has the right:
Use various methods of correcting children's development;
Help the family develop an individual program for raising a child;
Taking into account the interests of children, independently determine the forms, methods and content of education.