Maslow and School Culture:
When building a school culture Maslow's Hierarchy of needs must be taken into consideration. Unfortunately not all of our students have a perfect home life. According to Maslow, in order to achieve self-actualization, students must have proper nutrition and shelter, feel safe and secure, have a sense of community, and they must have their esteem needs met.
Often time students, especially in urban environments, arrive at school with little sleep, empty stomachs, and have spent the night without proper shelter. When the student arrives at school the last thing on their mind is learning. Our job as educators is to combat unfortunate home circumstances and provide a safe and nurturing learning environment.
Meeting a student’s biological and physiological needs with nutritious food, clean water and air, and a comfortable learning environment is an essential first step. Students must also feel safe in a school environment. This includes a bully-free atmosphere. Protecting our students and ensuring their learning atmosphere is safe is a non-negotiable.
If a student’s biological and physiological and safety needs are met, they can work towards a sense of belonging. This is where school culture really comes into play. Building a positive school culture will allow students to come together as a community. Additionally, building relationships with teachers and administrators is key. Educators have the potential to have a tremendous impact on a student’s life.
Once the student has a sense of belonging esteem needs such as achievement, social recognition, and personal worth must be met. Students who have a strong sense of esteem will take risks in the classroom, try new things, take feedback appropriately, and be more self-confident.
Only if all four of the bottom levels of the hierarchy of needs are met students can finally reach self-actualization. At this level students will desire growth and development, selfless-service, will be creative, and will be able to think for themselves.
As educators our goal is for all of our students to achieve self-actualization. Building a positive school culture where a student’s needs are met combined with an extraordinary learning environment will, without doubt, set the students on a track for success.
Often time students, especially in urban environments, arrive at school with little sleep, empty stomachs, and have spent the night without proper shelter. When the student arrives at school the last thing on their mind is learning. Our job as educators is to combat unfortunate home circumstances and provide a safe and nurturing learning environment.
Meeting a student’s biological and physiological needs with nutritious food, clean water and air, and a comfortable learning environment is an essential first step. Students must also feel safe in a school environment. This includes a bully-free atmosphere. Protecting our students and ensuring their learning atmosphere is safe is a non-negotiable.
If a student’s biological and physiological and safety needs are met, they can work towards a sense of belonging. This is where school culture really comes into play. Building a positive school culture will allow students to come together as a community. Additionally, building relationships with teachers and administrators is key. Educators have the potential to have a tremendous impact on a student’s life.
Once the student has a sense of belonging esteem needs such as achievement, social recognition, and personal worth must be met. Students who have a strong sense of esteem will take risks in the classroom, try new things, take feedback appropriately, and be more self-confident.
Only if all four of the bottom levels of the hierarchy of needs are met students can finally reach self-actualization. At this level students will desire growth and development, selfless-service, will be creative, and will be able to think for themselves.
As educators our goal is for all of our students to achieve self-actualization. Building a positive school culture where a student’s needs are met combined with an extraordinary learning environment will, without doubt, set the students on a track for success.
When Building School Culture Think Of.....
- A dress code
- A typical school day
- How students enter the school
- How students exit the school
- Common classroom procedures
- Where students will put their things
- Classroom and hallway transitions
- How visitors will be greeted
- Behavior interventions
- Values and beliefs of school
- Use of electronics
- Food/drink in school (outside of lunchroom)
Transforming Culture from Negative to Positive:
The following describe a few representative examples of common ways that schools attempt to improve their culture:
- Establishing a professional learning community program that encourages teachers to communicate, share expertise, and work together more collegially and productively.
- Providing presentations, seminars, and learning experiences designed to educate staff and students about bullying and reduce instances of bullying.
- Creating events and educational experiences that honor and celebrate the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the student body, such as hosting cultural events and festivals, exhibiting culturally relevant materials throughout the school, inviting local cultural leaders to present to students, or making explicit connections between the diverse cultural backgrounds of students and what is being taught in history, social studies, and literature courses.
- Establishing an advisory program that pairs groups of students with adult advisor to strengthen adult-student relationships and ensure that students are well known and supported by at least one adult in the school.
- Surveying students, parents, and teachers about their experiences in the school, and hosting community forums that invite participants to share their opinions about and recommendations for the school and its programs.
- Creating a leadership team comprising a representative cross-section of school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members that oversees and leads a school-improvement initiative.