I Just Didn’t Know
Children and their most basic needs.
Who Am I and
What am I doing Here?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Physiological

Lowest level – life sustaining needs:
Air
 Food
 Bodily comforts

Physiological

Physiological - seeks coping information in order to
meet basic needs. Information that won’t help an
individual meet those basic needs in a short time is
ignored.
Safety/Security

Out of danger, stability, dependency, protection,
freedom from fear, anxiety and chaos.
Safety/Security

Safety – seeks help information. Needs help in seeing
how they can be safe and secure.
Belonging and Love Needs


Affiliated with others
Being accepted and loved
Belonging and Love Needs
Belonging and Love – seeks enlightening information
searching for ways to feel like they belong and are loved.
Self-Esteem

Self-Evaluation – to achieve, be competent, gain
approval and recognition.
Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem – seeks empowering information-looking
for ways to develop their ego.
Self-Actualization



Be all that you can be.
To know.
To understand.
Self-Actualization



Edifying information
Lower-academic achievement
Seemingly not interested in school.
Self-Actualization

“In a neighborhood where the jobs people hold owe
little to their education, it is natural for children as they
grow older, to regard school as a brief prelude to work
rather than as an avenue to their future opportunities”
Plowden Report of 1967
Self-Actualization
Who attends high poverty and high minority schools?
Who are our lowest achieving student?
Who is more likely to be taught by under-qualified teachers?
Self-Esteem Needs



Perceived competence is only acquired through
successful experiences
Success build success
Failure builds failure
Self-Esteem Needs
Repeated Failure
Low achievement expectancy.
Low academic self concept.
Self-Esteem Needs

If people don’t expect to succeed, they seldom put
forth the effort needed for success
Low Expectation
Low Effort
Belonging and Love Needs
“If children are brought up in love, they learn to love.”
Belonging and Love Needs

Economic hardships influence how parents interact
with their children. (Hashima and Amato, 1994).

Children who are poor are more likely to be victims of
child abuse. (Jaudes and Voohis, 1995).
Belonging and Love Needs

Schools seldom fulfill this need so these children may
not identify with school.




Absenteeism
Non-compliance
Disruptiveness
Inattentiveness
(Fixin and Cox, 1992)
Belonging and Love Needs


Most frequently cited reason for dropping out of
school. (Quigley, 1992).
So, how do they fulfill this need?
Safety Needs

Toxic Homes + Toxic Environments = Toxic Lives




Twice as likely to live in over-crowded and substandard housing.
Low Income
Indoor Pest
Indoor Pollutants
(Evans & Kantrowitz)
(Am. Housing Survey)
Safety Needs

Low-income, ethnic minority children are more likely
to live in environments with toxic waste (Evans &
Kantrowitz, 2002).
Safety Needs

Critical Mass

When many poor households are lumped up together, a critical mass is
created. As more stable, middle-class households move away, a chain
reaction begins. Social meltdown, rising crime rates, high levels of drug
abuse and alcoholism, accelerated family breakdown --- neighborhood
deterioration-ignites. Bad neighborhoods destroy good people.
(Rusk Report,1996)
Safety Needs
SES Neighborhood



All-cause mortality
Cardiovascular risk
Cardiovascular disease
(Smith, et al. 1998)
Injury with mortality (Cubbin, LeClere, and Smith, 2000)
 Crime
 Fear of environment (Wandersman and Nation, 1998)
 Externalizing and Internalizing Behavior Problems
 Children become sexually active earlier.

(Leventhat and Brooks Gunn, 2000)

Child Abuse
 The
younger the child, the more likely to be abused. CDF, 2000.
 Increased exposure to trauma.
 Twice as likely to die before their 1st birthday. (Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 1997)
Physiological Needs




Air, water, shelter
Birth weight
Nutrition
Health care