Editing Humanistic education (section)

== Principles ==
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=== Choice and control ===
The [[humanistic]] approach places a great deal of emphasis on students' choice and control over the course of their [[education]]. Students are encouraged to make choices that range from day-to-day activities to periodically setting future life goals. This allows for students to focus on a specific subject of interest for any amount of time they choose, within reason. Humanistic teachers believe it is important for students to be motivated and engaged in the material they are [[learning]], and this happens when the topic is something the students need and want to know.

=== Felt concerns ===
Humanistic [[education]] tends to focus on the felt concerns and interests of the students intertwining with the [[intellect]]. It is believed that the overall mood and feeling of the students can either hinder or foster the process of [[learning]].

=== The whole person ===
Humanistic [[educator]]s believe that both feelings and [[knowledge]] are important to the [[learning]] process. Unlike traditional educators, humanistic teachers do not separate the [[cognitive]] and affective domains. This aspect also relates to the curriculum in the sense that lessons and activities provide focus on various aspects of the student and not just rote memorization through note taking and lecturing.

=== Self evaluation ===
Humanistic [[educator]]s believe that grades are irrelevant and that only self-evaluation is meaningful. Grading encourages students to work for a grade and not for intrinsic satisfaction. Humanistic educators disagree with routine testing because they teach students rote memorization as opposed to meaningful [[learning]]. They also believe testing doesn't provide sufficient [[educational]] feedback to the teacher.

=== Teacher as a facilitator ===
"The tutor or lecturer tends to be more supportive than critical, more understanding than judgmental, more genuine than playing a role."<ref>Rowan, J. (n.d.). Humanistic education. Retrieved from {{cite web|url=http://www.ahpweb.org/rowan_bibliography/chapter17.html |accessdate=September 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028171856/http://www.ahpweb.org/rowan_bibliography/chapter17.html |archivedate=October 28, 2011 |title=Ahp - A Guide to Humanistic Psychology }}</ref> Their job is to foster an engaging environment for the students and ask inquiry-based questions that promote meaningful learning.

===Field studies on humanistic education===
David Aspy and Flora Roebuck performed a large field study, in 42 states and 7 countries, in the 1970s and 80s, funded by the [[National Institute of Mental Health]] over a 12-year period, focusing on what led to achievement, [[creativity]], more student thinking and interactivity, less violence, and both teacher and student satisfaction. Their conclusions corroborated the earlier findings of Carl Rogers's that the more effective teachers were empathic, caring for or prizing their students, and were authentic or genuine in their classroom presence.<ref>Aspy, David, and Roebuck, Flora:  (1977) ''Kids Don't Learn from People They Don't Like'', Amherst, Massachusetts: Human Resources Development Press.</ref> In 2010 Jeffrey Cornelius-White and Adam Harbaugh published a large meta-analysis on Learner Centered Instruction including in their analysis of the higher quality studies on person-centered or humanistic education since 1948.<ref>Cornelius-White, J. and Harbaugh, A: (2010) ''Learner Centered Instruction ''Los Angeles: Sage</ref> In 2013, Rogers, Lyon, and Tausch published ''On Becoming an Effective Teacher -- Person-centered Teaching, Psychology, Philosophy, and Dialogues with Carl R. Rogers and Harold Lyon'',<ref>Rogers, CR, Lyon, Harold C. Jr, and Tausch: (2013) ''On Becoming an Effective Teacher- On–Person-centered Teaching, Psychology, Philosophy, and Dialogues with Carl R. Rogers and Harold Lyon'', London Routledge</ref> which contained Rogers' unpublished work on teaching and documented the research results of four highly related, independent studies which comprise a collection of data to test a person-centered theory in the field of [[education]].

=== In environment ===
The [[Built environment|environment]] in a school which focuses their practice on humanistic [[education]] tends to have a very different setting than a traditional school. It consist of both indoor and outdoor environments with a majority of time being spent outdoors. The indoor setting may contain a few tables and chairs, bean bags for quiet reading and relaxation, book shelves, hide-aways, kitchens, much color and art posted on the walls. The outdoor environment is very engaging for students. You might find tree houses, outdoor kitchens, sand boxes, play sets, natural materials, sporting activities, etc. The wide range of activities are offered for students allowing for free choices of interest.