Role of Humanistic Approach in Education

We are living in a world where technological developments are prevailing and take over different aspects of our life. Digital Technology and advancements are also now being implemented and integrated even in education (Habler, et al., 2016) however; these advancements also have negative impacts on us, especially in the learning of the students. It makes them get separated from the real world, transforming them into inefficient and dependent learners and it doesn’t really help the students to nurture their unique abilities. In contrast, Humanistic Approach in education seeks to educate the learners and develop them to become a ‘whole person’ because it sees them as a human being first that needs to satisfy all its basic needs (Maslow, n.d), and thus, bringing all the aspect of a person along the process of development.

The integration of technology in education can be the reason why the students got separated in the real world (“15 Disadvantages of Technology in Education,” 2015). According to Dewey (n.d), the students need to be involved in real-life tasks and experiences for them to fully grasp the knowledge that is essential for them to know. The student’s learning is enhanced through his own exploration and interpretation of everyday experiences with other people that helps them to think critically and see the different perspective in life but this cannot be achieved if they’re not given the chance to explore because of the loads of works that they need to accomplish online. They are deprived of socializing with other people and they are much focused on learning things in the online world rather than experiencing and learning things in the actual world.

The easy access of information through technology can make the learners inefficient and become dependent on the information they found online (“15 Disadvantages”, 2015) and that makes them lose their analysis skills and can develop bad learning habits and become a hindrance in their further progression and they will not exert effort in searching for other sources like books because it can easily be found through technology. As Roszak (1986, cited in Gilman 1989) warns us that our range to think creatively is being reduced and threaten by the information that is supposed to help us understand it. Technology should just serve as a tool that can be used in different ways (A.w., Tony, & Bates, 2015) and it should not hinder the learning of the student. An example of it given by Cullen and Gasparini (2012, cited in Habler, et al., 2016) that the learning outcome turns out to decrease when tablets were used in a task that aims to enhance the student’s ability in writing creatively compared to the outcomes in the previous years without it. Joyce and Weil (1986, cited in Shinn Yun Ho, 1997) stated that the students react variously depending on the teaching method that is why the selection of the proper method is critical in the learning process and the teachers should give extra attention in using technology as their medium of teaching.

The technological approach fails the execution of personalized learning (Watanabe-Crockett, n.d) and thus, it doesn’t nurture the unique abilities of the students as an individual because they’re confined in a specific place when using it. Moskowitz (1978, cited in Stevick, 1990) emphasizes that the Humanistic approach brings out the uniqueness and distinctive trait of the students because it focuses on how the students feel and think about themselves. It emphasizes and takes the learner’s personal interests, goals, aspirations, and abilities into account to develop the student’s full potential (Lei, 2007, cited in Khatib 2013). It teaches the student to realize its own potential and self-realization thus, making it the ground for their further development.

The humanistic approach gives every one of us the chance to be someone that we really are. It helps us to appreciate and know ourselves deeply for us to further assess the things we lack and the things we need to improve in ourselves. It may not be the easy way to gain intellectual knowledge as what the Technological approach offers, but it can be the way to gain humanistic knowledge that most people need nowadays. Technological advancement is a great aid to the learning and further improvement of the student however, it does not encompass the learning of the essential things that every human should learn and it does not possess the knowledge that only humans can teach and instruct to his co-humans.