The Application of a Humanist, Holistic Model of Education

to Technical education, with reference to the Humanist Carl

Rogers.

G00332426

Submitted for the Award of

Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Education

(Design Graphics and Construction)

to
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Letterfrack

Research Supervisor: Dr. Marie English

Readers: Dr Pauline Logue Collins & Mr. Anthony Clare

Programme: B.Sc. (Hons) in Education (Design Graphics and Construction)

Module Title: Dissertation

Date Submitted: April 30, 2019

PLAGIARISM DISCLAIMER

Student Name: JOHN KEEGAN

Student Number: G00333436
Programme: B.SC. (HONS) IN EDUCATION (DESIGN GRAPHICS
AND CONSTRUCTION)
Year: 4
Module: DISSERTATION
Assignment Title: THE APPLICATION OF A HUMANIST, HOLISTIC
MODEL OF EDUCATION TO TECHNICAL
EDUCATION, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE
TO THE HUMANIST CARL ROGERS
Due Date: April 30, 2019
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Date: 30/04/2019
Title

The Application of a Humanist, Holistic Model of Education to Technical

Education, with particular reference to the Humanist Carl Rogers.

Abstract

The concept of the Humanistic approach to Education has been around for years and the work
of the renowned educational theorist Carl Rogers has arguably left a legacy for education today.
Rogers’ person-centred approach is one that is used worldwide in education, Rogers’ belief
that every human being strives for and has the capacity to fulfill his or her own potential.
Literature shows that the humanistic approach considers the ‘holistic’ or ‘whole person’
experience in teaching and learning. This is important today as the key skills outlined in the
framework for the Irish Junior Certificate reform require the development of the whole person.
It is reasonable to argue that Technical Education has a strong overlap with the humanistic
approach as they have a resembling development of the person as a whole. The American
psychologist, Carl Rogers has arguably had an immense influence on the humanistic approach
to education and his theory and workings are still important in today’s education. The
importance of this research highlights how the humanistic approach to education is arguably
aligned with the key skills outlined in the framework for Junior Certificate reform - being
creative, working with others and communicating. This piece of research can help to foster the
link between the humanistic approach and technical education because in my opinion there is
a distinct overlap between humanistic education and the technical subject. The research
methodology adopted for this dissertation is secondary research with some primary sources
(Rogers’ own publications). Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse the application of a
Humanist with a view at a Holistic Model of Education to Technical education, with reference
to the Humanist Carl Rogers.

Key Words

Humanist, Holistic Model, Technical Education, Teaching and Learning, Carl Rogers
 1. INTRODUCTION
The humanistic approach to education emerged in the 1940’s when psychologists began to

investigate the development of the whole person. Carl Rogers was among the founders of the

humanistic approach to psychology and agreeably his theory has had a huge impact on the

education system that we have today. It is arguably directly linked with technical education.

The humanistic approach is one that we use in our classrooms in an ongoing fashion.

The aim of this study is to analyze the application of a Humanist, Holistic model of education

to Technical Education, with particular reference to the Humanist Carl Rogers.

The objectives of this dissertation are to:

 establish a concise definition of the humanist approach to teaching and learning, and

how it relates to the technical subjects;

 outline the humanistic model of education based on the holistic approach by

showcasing a holistic model of education to technical education;

 identify the contribution left by Carl Rogers theory on education and the impact it had

on today’s education;

 design a strategy that supports student meta-cognition based on the investigation of

Rogers’s theory.

Using primary resource sources such as Carl Rogers’ publication ‘On Becoming a Person’

(Rogers, 1961) I will discuss Rogers’ theory. I will complete an extensive review of many of

Rogers’ publications, publications like: ‘Carl Rogers on personal power’ (Rogers, 1978), ‘On

Becoming A Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy’ (Rogers, 2004), along with other

theorists’ work and educational journal articles and websites. Secondary research will also be

required to investigate using resources like the Department of Education and Skills website

1
(Government of Ireland, 2018) and the Irish Education History and Structure article (Coolahan,

1981), on the technical education system in Ireland will give insight for this study. The article

will also try to make an argument for why the humanistic approach to education can be linked

to the Key Skills outline in the Framework for Junior Cycle Reform, shown graphically by

appendix 4.

The structure of the paper is as follows:

 firstly, the humanistic approach to education, along with alternative approaches will be

explored;

 secondly Technical Education with the view of teaching and learning and how it links

with the humanistic approach will be examined;

 following this the author will investigate the American psychologist, Carl Rogers, his

theory, publications and the contribution he has had on education today;

 finally, the author will design a framework based on Rogers’ theory, to be implemented

in the Materials Technology Wood/ Wood Technology classrooms.

2. THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH TO EDUCATION

In this section I will define the word humanism and discuss what is meant by the humanistic

approach to education. It will give a detailed definition as to what humanism is, along with

analyzing alternative approaches to education, so that the reader will be informed about

alternatives and the author can then compare the humanistic approach to others. The

humanistic approach to education is one of several approaches that has been trialed and tested

through the years. The humanistic approach and the development of the whole student, (Dept.

of Education and Skills, 2018), is topical in today’s education as wellbeing is one of the key

skills being rolled out in the Junior Certificate Reform.

2.1 DEFINITIONS OF HUMANISM

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Carl Rogers described Humanism as a system of thought condemned as being centred to the

human and not to supernatural matters (Rogers & Russell, 2002). Humanism is defined by

Andy Griffith and Mark Burns as an outlook of thought of the person and that the person creates

their own set of ethics (Griffith & Burns, 2004). It portrays the development of a person as a

whole entity and looks at the character of the person and in doing so it considers the behaviour

and the characteristics of a person as good or bad, strong or weak through the eyes of the person

doing the behaviour and not just the eyes of the observer is what humanistic psychologists look

for. For example, they do not take into consideration the action but what and why the action

was executed, such as anger and anxiety. Hughes & Hughes, (1959) explain how the humanistic

approach is a person-centred, individual approach to teaching and learning. The Humanistic

approach to Education is one of the Psychologies of Education that have been discovered and

created by great philosophers in the past, such as Carl Rogers. The humanistic approach to

teaching arguably is one that is admirable as it portrays the development of a person as a whole

person and looks at the character of the person. Person-centred learning (Heim, 2011) (p 291),

emerged in the 1940’s as a therapeutic approach distinct from the behavioural and traditional

approaches that the humanistic approach was created.

The humanistic theory is based on the holistic model of a person and examines the whole

person. It looks at the development of affective, cognitive and psychomotor skills in a person.

These skills are known as the three domains of learning, where the growth in feelings or

emotional areas in a person is known as affective; mental skills and knowledge are known as

cognitive; and finally manual or physical skills are psychomotor skills (Reid & Petocz, 2004).

Humanistic theories are based on the premise that individuals are ‘self-actualizing’ (Maslow,

1970) meaning that development is from their potential and moving towards self-awareness.

An example is a person keen on literature publishing a book after having it as a goal for a

period. Goal setting is important in all aspects of life, we all live life to become the best possible

3
person we can. Person-centred implies that the individual is at the centre unlike some of the

other approaches, which sees the person entity. ‘Towards the end of the first decade of the 21st

century, it seems that beyond differences in emphases and formulations there is a wide

agreement that humanism consists of a cosmopolitan worldview and ethical code that posts the

enhancement of human development, well-being, and dignity as the ultimate end of all human

thought and action’ (Veugelers, 2011, p. 35).

It can be argued that there are many flaws to the humanistic approach to education. ‘Teaching

Backwards’ (Griffith, 2004) is a book that shows the Humanists suggest that self- actualization

is the goal of education. Self-actualization means the motivation to reach fulfilment of one’s

potential (Heim, 2011). However it can be argued that not all students can reach their goals,

in design-led teaching. Students with disabilities such as poor hand/ eye co-ordination, will

not be able to achieve their personal goals. Griffith (2004) examines the teaching strategy of

having a set goal and for the person to work towards the goal building and developing skills in

the process. There can be a link made to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and reaching self-

actualization. “Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising

a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid”

(McLeod, 2018) (p. 69). Being a person-centred approach means that one’s interpersonal and

communication skills may not be developed in the classroom, as the learning may be isolated

and not be in communication with another human. It focuses on the individual’s perspective.

In the Materials Technology Wood/ Wood Technology classroom, students work at different

rates, which is time consuming for the teacher. Some students also may find it hard to work in

groups. This brings about the question of how do you motivate the pupils who find work

challenging to complete a project once they have seen their peer completing it sometime before

them? I am paying particular attention to how the humanistic approach to education links in

with the technical subjects. Unlike subjects such as English/ Irish, the technical subjects involve

4
more senses (i.e.. touch, sight) so they lend themselves to the humanistic model. Having

discussed what the humanistic approach to education is, in the next section, I will analyse

contributions from the key theorists who created and influenced the approach.

2.2 KEY THEORISTS IN THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH

Humanism can be related back to the 1940’s, where therapists began to look at a person-centred

approach to therapy. Person-centred learning was then introduced to teaching and learning by

the experiments and trials of educational theorists, because they believed that having the person

at the centre of the learning is the most effective way to educate them. The two renowned

educational theorists that are behind the humanistic approach are Abraham Maslow and Carl

Rogers. Christianity Today (2018) p 38-43, outlines that “ The hierarchy of needs is a theory

of human motivation, proposed in 1943 by psychologist Abraham Maslow, that says human

beings have layers of needs: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization, in

that order’’. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a table which describes human needs in an order

of layers which have a fundamental function to them, shown in the diagram in appendix 2.

One of the main advocates to the humanistic approach was Carl Rogers, who viewed the

individual as an integrated organism (Rogers, 1961) Like Maslow, Carl Rogers’ theory was

based on the theory of self-actualization. Later in this paper I will investigate the contribution

of Carl Rogers and his theory and how his work has affected the approach to education.

2.3 ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO EDUCATION

There are a number of alternative approaches to education that can be identified with the

psychology of education. I have selected three to discuss as a comparison to the Humanistic

Approach. These are: 1. Discovery Learning, 2. Behaviorism and 3. Cognitivism.

5
Discovery Learning is an approach that is the most like the humanistic approach, as they

overlap as they have a pupil-centred learning objective, meaning the main focus of the approach

is observed with the person at the main focus (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2018). Discovery

Learning can be defined using the persons thoughts to overcome a problem (Dewey, 1997),

and also a method of inquiry-based instruction, which could be an investigation. John Dewey

was a theorist who was interested in the well-being of the student and of the society. He

believed that learning should be built upon past experiences (Dewey, 2007) because Discovery

learning is an approach that is related to early education in particular Maria Montessori,

(Montessori , 2013), believed in the observation of the child. The Montessori method to

education is one that has self-directed activity, collaborative play and hands on learning. Her

idea of self-directed activity is on the same lines as Carl Rogers’ theory; in the person-centered

approach.

The two other psychological perspectives: Behaviorism and Cognitivism, are perspectives that

have the environment at the core and do not address the ‘holistic’ or ‘whole person’ in their

approaches (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Behaviourism refers to a psychological approach which

is concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviours, and states all behaviours are

learned through interaction with the environment (Watson, 1998). Saul Mc Leod (2015)

describes Cognitive psychology as the scientific study of the mind as an information processor.

Both theories have peer work. Peer work is used in education so that students can collaborate

in order to address a task (Shiner, 1999). The theory that behaviourism is portrayed as the

conditioning of a human without foregrounding or giving much consideration to thoughts or

feelings (O'Donaghue & Kitchener, 1999). BF Skinner and his operant conditioning, which is

reflected in the Skinner’s Box illustrates how the behaviourism approach works. Skinner

believed in the path of having interesting work which makes the pupils work, and that by

praising the students work was how learning was best perfected. A major part of Skinner’s

6
theory was that of reinforcement in the learning (Ferster & Skinner, 1957). He believed that

by giving positive or negative response it made the behaviour stronger or weaker. Ertmer &

Newby (2013) (p 43-71), illustrates that “Cognitive theories focus on the conceptualization of

students’ learning processes and address the issues of how information is received, organized,

stored, and retrieved by the mind’’. This theory is solely focused on the behavioural aspects

of the person and has no consideration on other aspects of the person as a whole.

Cognitivism is divided into two categories, constructivism and social constructivism (Bruner,

1997). Jean Piaget with his trial and error approach was a main proponent of constructivism.

Constructivism is an independent learning approach in comparison to the team work and

problem-based learning advocated by Vygotsky and Bruner, the social constructivists (Fosnot,

2013). Having outlined the different approaches to education, in the next section I will discuss

technical education.

3. TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Durcan, 1972, exemplifies Technical Education as a means in training in crafts, engineering

and applied sciences, including the managerial and commercial aspects of industry (Durcan,

1972). Technical Education was defined in the Irish Vocational Education Act, Office of the

Attorney General 1930, p. 23-37, as ‘education pertaining to trades, manufacturer, commerce

and other industrial pursuits and in subjects bearing thereon or relating thereto and includes

education in science and art and also includes physical training’. Since the definition is so

broad, it gives way for a variety of definitions as illustrated by Durcan above. An example of

the subjects in the Irish curriculum that fall into the technical education bracket are: Materials

Technology Wood, Design Communication Graphics, Chemistry. Technical Education first

began in Britain and was later introduced into Ireland in 1890. Technical Education has seen

many changes to the content of Technical Education (Doherty, 2017). Technical Education

7
has seen many changes like, in 1926, the Commission on Technical Education published its

report which examined ‘trade and Industry’ (Coolahan, 1981). Key milestones in the

development of technical education were the establishment of the Department of Agriculture

and Technical Instruction (1899), Commission on Technical Education (1927), the Vocational

Education Act (1930), the Investment in Education Report (1965), curricular reforms in the

1990’s and current Junior Cycle reforms (Doherty, 2017). These changes in technical

education to date have been moving towards Rogers’ approach to teaching and learning.

Having outlined Technical Education, the next section will focus on Teaching and Learning in

a secondary classroom and how it incorporates and links with Technical Education.

3.1 TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching and Learning has many meanings, such as the procedure and the methods in which

something is taught by an educator and learned by a student (Lever-Duffy, et al., 2002). There

is a distinct overlap between the humanistic approach and technical education, as technical

education develops the whole person. Affective, Cognitive and Psychomotor skills are

developed with the technical subjects (Reznick, 1993). This skills are known to us as the Three

Domains of Learning, where the growth in feelings or emotional areas in a person is known as

Affective, mental skills and knowledge is known as Cognitive and finally manual or physical

skills are Psychomotor skills. Arguably, the nature of Technical Subjects is one that has

Humanism at the core, the subject areas consist of practical work which incorporates hand-eye

coordination along with critical thinking in the process of project-based learning. As illustrated

in the article, (Patel, 2017), the holistic approach to teaching develops students to be critical,

confident and be able to work independently, the holistic approach is based on the view that

teaching is a social activity, this lends itself to the technological classroom because these four

strategies are also key to the classroom.

8
Critical thinking and confidence are required in the design process in the technological

classroom while independent work must be obtained during project work. Lorraine Marshall

and Francis Rowland, (1998), chapter 1, p. 3-11, look at the different fields that impact a person

being able to learn independently. The book shows how one can use the insights to make

learning more effective and satisfying which will boost confidence. The holistic approach to

education is used to develop a person psychologically, so they can find meaning and purpose

in life (Patel, 2017). This can be positively compared to Technical Education as the syllabus

indicates that critical thinking, which is objective view of an issue to form a judgement,

confidence in work and ability to work on one’s own are all illustrated in the document.

Caroline Heim’s article (Heim, 2011) indicates the connection with how new teaching and

learning methods are original ideas of Rogers’, student-centred learning, problem based

learning etc.

The holistic development of the students is taken into account by the Irish Department of

Education as they state that “School Development Planning is a process undertaken by the

school community to give direction to the work of the school in order to ensure that all pupils

receive a quality education in terms of both holistic development and academic achievement’’

(Dept. of Education and Science, 1999). More recent documentation such as the Wellbeing

Policy Statement and Framework for Practice, (2018), outlines that the role of the school is

now understood as a place which develops the whole child’ (Dept. of Education and Skills,

2018). The enhancing of a student’s self-esteem and self-concept is something that is looked

at in Danial Muljis and David Reynolds book, Effective Teaching (Muijs & Reynolds, 2011).

This book asks does self-concept relate to pupils’ achievement and enhancing self-esteem in

the classroom. Behaviour for Learning (Ellis & Tod, 2009) chapter 7 on self-esteem and self-

efficacy investigates how and individual should look at their ability to execute a behaviour to

produce a pacific outcome. As educators we must insure that our students develop through the

9
whole body. Students need to be aware and understand their own thought process. In chapter 1

of Robert J. Marzano’s and Debra J. Pickering’s book The Highly Engaged Classroom

(Marzano & Pickering, 2011) they talk about students interests in education and what they want

to learn. To ensure that we guide students to be able to establish what is wrong and what is

right by acting of their knowledge, we must make sure that we teach to the heart and to the

hands not just to the mind. This teaching strategy is one that can be related to Carl Rogers’

theory of self- actualization. Having discussed technical education and teaching and learning

and how the humanistic approach to education is incorporated in them, in the next section I

will discuss the American psychologist Rogers and his contribution to teaching and learning.

4. CARL ROGERS, THE HUMANIST

Carl Rogers was born in 1902 and he grew up on a farm in Illinois, where he developed an

interest in biology & agriculture. Whilst studying Rogers had the view of humanistic

psychology was at odds with Freudian theory & behaviourism, which looked at the role of the

environment and conditioning. The Freudian theory, a medical modal that looks closely at the

unconscious drives, such as anger and anxiety, and impulses that make people to act in certain

ways (Torrey, 1992). Rogers worked hard building up his theory and he gained recognition

when he won the APA award for distinguished scientific contribution in 1956. Another change

was on the horizon and in 1963, he moved to LaJolla, California, where he developed the

Center for Studies of the Person. He believed that humans are motivated through an innate

potential to actualize, maintain and enhance the self, the term self-actualization is one that is

strongly linked to Rogers’ theory (Rogers, 1978), an example of which would be for an

educator to get all their students top marks in an exam. The term self-actualization is one that

should be prevalent in the technological classroom also. After outlining the biography of the

American psychologist, the author will examine his theory in the next section.

10
4.1 ROGERS’ THEORY

The word ‘Phenomenology’ is arguably one that is associated with Rogers belief and theory.

Phenomenology means the reality of our environment depends on our perception of it (Thorne

& Sanders, 2012), so that students perceive the world though personal factors and experiment

by doing. Rogers believed that the experience of being understood and valued gives one the

freedom to grow (Rogers, 2000). Carl Rogers had the belief that humans had two basic needs.

These are: 1. Self-Actualization- the need to fulfill all of one’s potential; 2. Positive Regard-

the need to receive acceptance, respect, and affection from others (Heppner, et al., 1984).

Rogers investigated and came to terms that these two needs were often in conflict. He thought

that by pleasing one meant giving up the other. His work shows us that this has an impact on

our personality and that we created two versions of our-selves: 1. The Real- Self and; 2. The

Self-Concept (Rogers, 1978). These two terms can be defined as, the Real-Self - based on our

experiences and feelings; and the Self-Concept - the person that we think we are. He showed

how we begin to lose touch with the Real Self. He called this mismatch Incongruence. Rogers’

theory has Person-Centred Therapy at its core, where he had the goal of Congruence. The term

Congruence is the compatibility between the Real-Self and the Self-Concept (Dolich, 1969),

this is the area where the two are in agreement and are compatible and can be seen graphically

in appendix 3. Congruence can be achieved in technical education when the teacher acts as a

guide in the classroom giving positive constructive advice to build student confidence. For the

teenager who is trying to build self-confidence it is part of accepting failure, students get upset

at making a mistake. This gives the teacher an opportunity to give one to one positive guidance

to the student.

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 Fig 1. (Journal Psyche, 2017).

In his person-centered therapy he placed a strong emphasis on the therapeutic relationship. He

developed three conditions for the Person-Centered Therapy, 1. Empathy, 2. Congruence and

3. Unconditional Positive Regard (Rogers, 2000, p. 98). In the first condition of Empathy,

Rogers sought a similarity between the emotions of the therapist and the client. His essence of

Unconditional Positive Regard was that the therapist showed respect and acceptance no matter

what the client said. The term self-actualization is one that is strongly linked to Rogers’ theory

and he developed this from the characteristics of fully functioning person (Rogers, 1995), see

Appendix 1. Rogers argued that we have an innate drive to reach an optimal sense of ourselves

and satisfaction with our lives, a person who does this is what he calls a “Fully Functioning

Person” (Rogers, 1961). The term ‘Conditional positive regard’ is shown by Rogers as

emphasis on the way that love, and support is given conditionally (Rogers, 2013, p. 341). The

theory of Carl Rogers is one that I find very interesting and I am of the same believe to the

values he has set on the development of the person as a whole (Appendix 5). Having outlined

Rogers theory, in the next section the author will investigate some of the publications from

Carl Rogers because they illustrate his beliefs and opinions.

4.2 ROGERS’ PUBLICATIONS

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Rogers had many publications including the famous: On Becoming a Person (Rogers, 1961)

which is one that I have explored in relation to his theory. On Becoming A Person: A Therapist's

View of Psychotherapy (Rogers, 2004) is a publication by Rogers himself, where he goes

through how education is the foundation to becoming the person that one wants to become.

Carl Rogers on personal power (Rogers, 1978) is another publication that will demonstrate to

me how Rogers felt about how humanism being key to education. The politics of the helping

relationship: Carl Rogers' contributions (Zucconi, 2011) this paper highlights the present-day

value of the contributions of Carl Rogers. Person-centred and experimental practitioners are

encouraged in the article, which gives valid information on the life of Carl Rogers and his

theory. Having discussed Rogers’ theory and his publication the author will source the

contribution of Carl Rogers on today’s education in the next section.

4.3 CONTRIBUTION OF ROGERS’ WORK TO EDUCATION TODAY

Arguably, Carl Rogers influenced education as his theory and workings have been at the core

of curriculum design by developing the learner as a whole and not just a single method of

teaching. For example this can be observed in group tasks and teamwork in classrooms.

Curriculum can be seen in the view that is focused on Rogers as it considers students' strengths,

weaknesses, their prior knowledge, learning styles and their future. It is reasonable to comment

that school development plans in Ireland have made reference to Rogers’ theory as they have

moved to the development of the person as a whole (Dept. of Education and Science, 1999).

Rogers applied his humanistic approach to learning and introduced a learner-centred

educational plan, also known as student-centred learning. Agreeably student-centered learning

is one of the most leading approaches that is used in education today, and this approach can be

linked back to Rogers. However some may say that Maslow was the one who brought about

the idea of person-centred learning. Educators and teachers have for years placed emphasis on

developing self-concept in students for example making pupils feel like they belong in a group

13
in subjects such as SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education). In technical education and

in project development self-concept is very important as students have to have belief in

themselves, self-confidence and self-efficacy (Bandura, 2010, pp. 1-3), to get it completed and

it ties in with motivation towards a task. Instilling this belief and self-concept into the student

is the teacher’s responsibility, however the workings and publications of Carl Rogers have

given us a good insight into the strategies to do so (Muijs & Reynolds, 2011). In the next

section the author will critique Rogers’ theory.

4.5 CRITIQUE OF CARL ROGERS’ THEORY

Carl Rogers is one of the most famous names in relation to humanism and his ideas are still in

use in education today. However, like all theories and ideas there are alternative views and

different perspectives. I would argue that Rogers’ theory can be described as challenging to

implement in a classroom. The concept of self-actualization can be referred to as ambiguous

when one looks to critique Carl Rogers’ theory (Gellar, 1982). For example, how feasible is it

for everyone to reach their potential, or indeed, be aware of their own potential? As part of

Alexander Goodwill MacDougal’s thesis, which was submitted to Mc Gill University, he

produced ‘A Theological Critique of Carl Rogers’. His findings were that Rogers did not

consider aspects of personality that the client may be unaware of (the unconscious), but that

still influence client’s behaviour ( Alexander Goodwill MaeDougal, 1972). The author would

have liked to see in some of Rogers’ publications something about personality of the student

and how it may affect behaviour.

5. A PROPOSED STRATEGY THAT SUPPORTS STUDENT METACOGNITION

BASED ON THE INVESTIGATION OF ROGERS’S THEORY

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In reviewing the literature, the author has created a framework that supports student

metacognition. He encourages them to be aware of what they are doing based on Carl Rogers’

theory. Meta-Cognition is defined by Hacker, Dunlosky and Graesser, 1998, p.13, ‘as

‘knowledge of cognition and monitoring and control of cognitive activates’. Metacognition is

the ability of a person to be able to understand their own thought process. The ability to express

one’s thought process is made clear in the syllabus of technical subjects. Design-based learning

is something that is thought in the Materials Technology Wood classroom. Carl Rogers’ theory

and the term self-actualization can be directly linked with design-based learning in the

completion of projects in the materials technology wood classroom. The strategy is one that

can be easily used in the Materials Technology Wood classroom and can be linked with Rogers’

theory. The third part of the strategy comes from Rogers’ term ‘self-actualization’ as the

student creates an aim which they wish to achieve. Rogers can also be linked to the final part

as his ‘person-centred learning’ is the focus of that section. The strategy is laid out in a very

logical and easy to follow sequence.

Proposed Strategy:

 Students given material by the teacher

 Students use their own thoughts to generate ideas from their own experiences,

preferences and likes to design a project from what they have been given

 The students create a goal for what they want to create

 The students will then use their own initiative to make the project with the assistance

from the class teacher.

 Students will be asked to present their workings to the class to improve their oracy

skills.

15
Carl Rogers’ theory of student-centred learning also comes into this strategy, as the student is

at the centre of the process with the teacher there as a facilitator. Student-centred learning has

been part of the result to successfully raising the achievement levels of students (Overby,

2011). By implementing this strategy into a materials technology wood classroom, it would

make for better achievement for the students and the teacher, because the student will have

increased engagement in the work. Having created this strategy, the author wishes to outline

how to place this strategy into the Materials Technology Wood/ Wood Technology classrooms,

this will be discussed in the next section.

Arguably, putting this strategy created by the author into the Materials Technology Wood/

Wood Technology classroom would be easily adapted when producing projects with the

students. Project making is at the core of the curriculum for the subject (Dept. of Education

and Skills, 2018) and by replacing set projects with this strategy it would help to increase

student engagement and also increase student achievements. It is reasonable to assert that this

strategy would make the process of the Junior Certification Project easier for the student and

would also reduce the design process time in the classroom, which makes for more time for the

manufacture of the project. In the Materials Technology Wood/ Wood Technology classroom

project making is at the core of the learning and this strategy outlined by the author could easily

be implemented into classrooms across the country. When working on projects in today’s

lessons, students are all undertaking the same project and are not developing their creativity

and innovative skills. So instead of handing out a bundle of material along with a detailed

drawing, the teacher should just give the students material and allow them to use their past

experiences along with their preferences to design and take control of their own project, which

in fact will increase motivation in students. The teacher will move into a facilitator/ guidance

role for the lessons.

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 6. CONCLUSION

The Humanistic approach to education is one of the leading ones in education and is the

direction in which education is moving in the technical classroom. Arguably the humanistic

approach is the approach that aligns best with the Key Skills outlined in the Framework for

Junior Cert Reform by the NCCA, (NCCA, 2016). The author indicates that the humanistic

approach is important as one can argue that it is crucial to develop the whole person.

In examining the work and contribution of the American psychologist, it is reasonable to see

that his workings have left a legacy on the way in which students are educated today. His

theory of student-centered learning is in use in all levels of education in Ireland and around the

world (Rogers, 2000). I would argue that it is important for educators to include active student-

centred learning as it is expected to be a part of the new junior cycle, which would come under

the working with others and communication key skills (Appendix 4.). Rogers’ theory was

clearly researched when the proposed Junior Cert Reform was created. Being one of the

founders of the humanistic approach to psychology, Rogers’ theory and his ‘self-actualization’

term have been inclusive in teaching and learning and will be for the foreseeable future.

The proposed strategy created by the author could be one that will be used in Ireland in the

Materials Technology Wood classroom. The strategy highlights Rogers’ theory of person-

centred learning and is one that will create a high level of student engagement in their work.

The author would hope that the strategy would be used more regularly in the Irish classroom.

‘’The good life is a process not a state of being, It is a direction; not a destination’’
- Carl Rogers

17
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