Childhood And Youth Studies Example

Childhood And Youth Studies Example Childhood And Youth Studies â€" Essay Example > 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 surrounding s. 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 perso n 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).