Essay Sample on Kurt Lewin's Fundamental Equation

Kurt Lewin suggests that the development of a person is the outcome of the contact between a person’s nature (inborn predisposition) and his or her experiences in life (Duch, 2017). Lewin first presented the concept in his book Principles of Topological Psychology in 1936, and he presented the concept in a mathematical equation. Lewin states that behavior is the function of the person interacting within his environment or B = f (P, E) (Duch, 2017). Lewin’s equation has influenced educational theory by stimulating a huge quantity of research on children. According to Lewin, life space is mostly influenced by the social and physical settings that a person finds or herself in and may include books read, people encountered, and feelings about places (Duch, 2017). The growth of a child is typified by a personality system that progressively grows and distinguishes to incorporate the learning of new norms, duties, and social cues. In his equation, Lewin further explains why children of the same age showcase dissimilarities in development.

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Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The hierarchy of needs proposed by Maslow (1943, 1954) is a motivational theory in psychology that comprises of a five-tier concept of human needs. The model is usually presented as hierarchical steps in a pyramid (Fallatah & Syed, 2018). An individual must first satisfy the needs found lower in the pyramid before he or she can satisfy the requirements found in the upper part of the pyramid. From the top of the hierarchy pyramid downwards, the needs include self-actualization, esteem needs, belongingness and love needs, safety needs, and psychological needs, which are basic needs. Maslow’s model of needs has been had a significant role in shaping educational theory through teaching and classroom management in schools. Maslow uses a holistic method of education and learning by taking into consideration the total intellectual, emotional, and physical attributes of a person and how they influence learning (Sapna, 2019). Maslow proposes that learners must have the feeling that they are respected and valued in the classroom, and educators are required to establish a supportive learning environment. Low-esteem students may find it difficult to excel academically at an optimum rate until their self-esteem is improved.

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

The model states that the success of a leader is determined by how the leadership design of the leader matches the presenting situation (Yadav & Kala, 2018). Fielder’s model became the third most recognizable situational model of leadership to be developed and appeared in his book A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness, in 1967. The essence of the model is that the effectiveness of a leader is determined by two forces, that is, the leadership style of the leader, and situational favorableness. Leadership style can be categorized into task-orientated and relationship-orientated. In task-oriented, leaders are focused on getting the job done without worrying about their relationship with subordinates. According to Sapna (2019), in relationship-oriented, leaders demonstrate care about emotional engagement with their subordinates. Situational favorableness, several situational elements affect the efficiency of leadership styles. In educational leadership, the use of contingency and situational model emphasizes the significance of examining the presenting situation and the variables that affect the framework of organizations so that a leader can be effective.

Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Y

Douglas proposed his concept in 1960. The theory is crucial to organizational culture and improvement of the corporate culture. According to Douglas, the theory serves a simple and salutary reminder of the natural rules for controling individuals, which under the pressure of routine business activities are often easily forgotten. Douglas maintains that there are two theories by which leaders comprehend employee motivation. According to Sapna (2019), Douglas referred to the two opposing theories as motivational methods as Theory X and Theory Y management. Theory X depicts the authoritarian style of management, where the average person dislikes works and avoids the job if they can; hence a majority of individuals have to be threatened with punishment towards achieving the objectives. The motivational theory Y is a participative style of management. The responsibility of work is natural, individuals are committed to achieving objectives, and people accept responsibility (Sapna, 2019). The theory shapes education theory in that the motivation of students is associated with learning. The X and Y model as a basis of understanding and enhancing motivation in the world of business can be directly used in the science of the class environment. Teachers who have concept Y-kind of perception offer increased motivation to students and enhance more active learning compared to concept X-kind of teachers who do not perceive students as active learners.

Hersey Blanchard Tridimensional Leader Effectiveness Model

The model was created by Paul Hersey and leadership specialist Ken Blanchard. The model by Hersey-Blanchard proposes that there are various types of leadership styles and that the choice of leadership a person chooses is not better than the other (Gozukara, 2016). Rather than being driven on workforce elements, the model implies that leaders must be able to adjust their styles of leaderships to math their followers and the unique abilities of his or her followers. According to the model, effective leadership should be both relationship-oriented and task-oriented. Conferring to Gozukara (2016), the model proposed by Hersey-Blanchard is a flexible and adaptive leadership style. The model encourages leaders to consider their subordinates, teams or individuals, and take into consideration the elements that influence their work setting before settling on which leadership style to use to ensure the objectives of the organization are met.

According to Gozukara (2016), there are four various styles of leadership established by Hersey and Blanchard, depending on the relationships and tasks that leaders encounter in the work environment. The first style is delegating, which is a low task, low-relationship model in which the group is allowed to take responsibility for task decisions. Participating style: a low-task and high-relationship style of leadership. Selling style: is a high-task and high-relationship style of leadership. Telling style: is a high-task and low-relationship style of leadership (Gozukara, 2016). The model has shaped educational theory in that it can be used by teacher educators to provide instructions in methodology to students from teacher-based educational systems. Such teachers often complain that some learners are usually reluctant to learn about innovative methodologies.

Argyris Maturity Theory

The model proposed by Chris Argyris in the 1980s, is one of the many theories that aim to explain the nature of human beings and behaviors. In theory, the development of an individual is processed along with a progressive break of an immaturity scenario to a maturity scenario (Göksoy & Sagir, 2017). A mature person is typified for being independent, being active, self-controlled, and self-confident. Conversely, an immature individual is dependent, passive, devoid of confidence, and has the urge to be controlled by other people. According to Agryis, managers who interact positively with people, and are responsible, often realize the highest level of productivity. Conferring to Göksoy & Sagir (2017), a significant shortcoming of the model is its dependence on the personality of a person, yet every person is unique; hence different results can be yielded from the model. The model resembles Maslow’s in that growth is a natural and healthy experience for individuals. The model has contributed to the educational theory in that double-loop learning is an education process and model that entails teaching individuals to think profoundly regarding their assumptions and beliefs.

Reference

Fallatah, R. H. M., & Syed, J. (2018). A critical review of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In Employee Motivation in Saudi Arabia (pp. 19-59). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Göksoy, S., & Sagir, M. (2017). Professional maturity of teachers within the scope of maturity theory of Chris Argyris Chris Agyris’ in olgunluk kurami kapsaminda ögretmenlerin mesleki olgunlugu. Journal of Human Sciences, 14(3), 3078-3092.

Gozukara, I. (2016). Leadership and managerial effectiveness in higher education. International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 6(1), 73-82.

Sapna, M. (2019, April 23). Theories of Employee Motivation. Retrieved from https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/human-resource-management-2/employee-motivation-human-resource-management-2/theories-of-employee-motivation/19395

Yadav, R., & Kala, S. (2018). School Leadership: Qualitative Mapping of Fiedler Model. International Journal on Leadership, 6(1), 46.