There's an old saying in teaching, 'Don't smile before Christmas' (meaning 'don't show your nice side before you've shown them who's boss'). But Carl Rogers' work led him to believe passionately that teachers should do precisely the opposite. He believed that teachers should seek to create emotionally warm, supportive environments in which they worked collaboratively with their students to achieve mutual goals.
In such environments, he suggested, students came to 'love' learning. His beliefs, expressed in his book Freedom to Learn (1969), were underpinned by years of experience as a counsellor and supported by research evidence. Rogers is commonly viewed as the most influential psychologist in American history, the founder of clientcentred (non-directive) therapy and the modern-day father of humanistic education. He has made an impact around the world through his empathic presence, rigorous research and authorship of 16 books and more than 200 professional articles. Rogers spent the last ten years of his life applying his theories in the areas of social conflict within nations, including Northern Ireland and South Africa. He received many honorary degrees and awards for his work from throughout the world, including nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, which as it happened, occurred on the day he died. In Freedom to Learn Rogers also revealed his antipathy towards traditional, transmission teaching. He wrote: 'It seems that to most people, teaching involves keeping order in the classroom, pouring forth facts usually through lectures or textbooks, giving examinations and setting grades. This stereotype is badly in need of overhauling. He pointed out how students preferred learning environments in which they were engaged in collaborative learning activities, peer teaching, carrying out their own enquiries and classroom talk that required multiple levels of thinking. In such environments, he saw 'teachers' more as 'facilitators of learning'. But whilst he fervently believed in teachers giving students 'freedom to learn', he was not suggesting doing away with the teacher's expert contribution. He believed it was vital that teachers always provided enough limits and requirements - support and challenge in today's terms - to structure activities. Although Rogers' work was first published forty years ago, his ideas are just as relevant today. His emphasis on student well-being is also echoed in current initiatives, such as Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL).
In this TLA research summary, we explore Carl Rogers' beliefs about teaching and learning, and draw out the implications for teachers. We look at the kind of teaching and learning environment he believed was most conducive to the learning process, and the interpersonal relationships and approaches that teachers who created such learning environments adopted - demonstrating that pedagogy can only be enacted through human relationships. We look too at some of the research evidence presented in Freedom to learn which showed the positive effect of the caring, empathic approach Rogers advocated, on students and their learning; how it had an impact on student attitudes to school, attendance, self-esteem and attainment. We also show the current applicability of Carl Rogers' work through a number of case studies of classroom enquiries carried out by teachers - available as related pages.
