Abraham Maslow: Founder of Humanistic Psychology and His Contribution to Early Child Education

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On April 1, 1908, Abraham Harold Maslow was born in Brooklyn, New York to two Jewish immigrants from Russia (Boeree, 2011). He was raised in Brooklyn, briefly studied law at the City College of New York, transferred to Cornell and then back to CCNY, and then graduated from the University of Wisconsin (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, n.d.). Interestingly enough, he married his first cousin, Bertha, against his parent's wishes (Boeree, 2011). Next, he began teaching at Brooklyn College, where he met people like Adler, Horney, Fromm, Gestalt, and many Freudian psychologists (Boeree, 2011). Finally, he transferred to Brandeis University where he served as the chair of the psychology department and began his campaign for humanistic psychology (Boeree, 2011). As his life progressed, he spent his retirement in California. On June 8, 1970, he died of a heart attack after many years of bad health (Boeree, 2011).
Every student who enters school is involved in a different situation and comes from a different background varying in levels of difficulty. Regardless of a student’s background, every student has specific needs. According to the Ladder of Needs Motivation Theory, everyone has basic needs that are required to be fulfilled before they can begin to fulfill more complex needs. Abraham H. Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs, which is usually depicted by a pyramid (Woodland-Gyles, 2011). The most basic needs are at the bottom of the pyramid and the most complex needs are at the top. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is made up of (from the bottom of the pyramid to the top): physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs (Boeree, 2011).
Graduates go into the teaching profession kno...

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...y other human being, regardless of age, is going to respond this way. Therefore, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is correct and should continue to be implemented in schools accordingly.

Works Cited

Boeree, C. G. (2011, April 24). Abraham maslow. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html

Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2014). Introduction to teaching: Becoming a professional. (5th ed., pp. 204-205). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education,Inc.

Morrison, G. (2012). Early childhood education today. (12th ed., pp. 400-402). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://homepages.rpi.edu/~verwyc/
MASLOWOH.htm

Woodland-Gyles, J. (2011). Early childhood education workforce capacity project. Retrieved from http://www.csu.edu.au/special/teachec/RESOURCES/PDF/Transpersonal_Psychotherapy.pdf

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