WHAT IS LEARNING THROUGH UNFOLDMENT OR SELF-ACTUALIZATION?
(from Bigge and Shermis, 1999 p.32-32) 1.We come now to the second major position to be treated in this chapter, often called “learning through unfoldment.” This outlook on the nature of learning stems logically from • the theory that people are naturally good and at the same time active in relation to their environments. • All people are assumed to be free, autonomous, and forwardly active persons who are reaching out from themselves to make their worlds. • Unless and until they are corrupted by some outside influences, every act that comes from them will be good. • Each student is subjectively free, and each student’s own choice and responsibility account for his or her life. That person, and that person alone, is the architect and builder of that life. 2. Early development of this point of view usually is associated with Jean J. Rousseau (1712-1778). Later, the Swiss educational reformer Heinrich Pestalozzi (174~1827) and the German philosopher, educator, and founder of the kinderga
