Needs to succeed

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a good reminder for prioritizing what benefits and motivation 4-H programming brings youth.

Picture the epitome of a quality as positive youth development programs. It is likely that in involves a group of young people taking the lead, with the support of adults, on a creative well thoughout initiative that has impact, and may even get recognition from the public. Youth involved have achieved a goal, mastered a skillset, expressed their creativity and discovered unique talents to build upn. However, how much more challenging would reaching these goals be for a young person if they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from or regularly feared violence when walking home from school? Related to motivation theory, Abraham Malsow created a Hierarchy of Needs which prioritizes what an individual needs for survival and to thrive. The idea is that each level of this conceptualized pyramid, starting at the base, must be met before moving onto the next one. Conversely, if meeting more basic needs starts to be challenged, maintaining higher level needs becomes more difficult.

Maslow outlines basic, physiological needs as food, water, shelter and warmth. These could be considered needs of an individual that are essential for physical survival. The next level of needs are safety needs including safety, security and freedom from fear. Following are needs to belong socially, build self-esteem and self-actualization. Considering this order of needs, imagine a young person attempting to become successful academically, but regularly not having a meal before leaving for school. Or, for example, a child struggling to feel like part of a social group because of instability at home.

The challenge with considering Maslow’s hierarchy in youth programming is figuring out how it applies to the work we do. Michigan State University Extension aims to create programming through 4-H that helps young people build self-esteem and self-actualization. We certainly do not want to start limiting what we encourage young people to pursue because basic needs are not fully met. What helps is to consider the basic definition of positive youth development: that it acknowledges, celebrates and builds upon the strengths young people already exhibit. Within that definition, the Hierarchy of Needs becomes an awareness tool rather than a metric for a young person’s ability. It is important to be aware that a student or participant might be struggling because of other, more basic needs not being met. It can be an indicator that a young person needs more support from, or needs a referral for, additional support from others so that they can thrive at the task at hand.

Maslow’s prioritization can be utilized in a more direct way when taking a step back from direct work with youth and looking at program development at an organizational level. Keep an eye out for, When Does your Program Need What, which looks at program planning and design through the lens of layered priorities and needs. Similar to when working with youth, there are also limitations when on taking a strict, hardlined approach to this method in program design.

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