A Child-Centered Theory of Learning

Running head: A CHILD-CENTERED THEORY OF LEARNING
A child-centered theory of learning
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1A CHILD-CENTERED THEORY OF LEARNING
The thought process of adults when it comes to establishing an effective relationship with
the child is highly egocentric. Adults are found to judge the psyche of a child from the standpoint
of themselves and hence often misunderstanding occurs. This formulation has several
similarities as well as dissimilates with the later critique of Fraiere known as ‘banking
education’. According to Fraeire, the traditional pedagogy can be defined as a form of oppression
where the teachers act like a depositor and the students are their depositories. In traditional
pedagogy, the chief intention of the teacher is to fill the students with concepts that are
completely detached from the reality. As a result, although the children gather knowledge, their
overall psychological development does not take place due to lack of invention and creativity.
Banking or traditional education minimizes the creative power of the children (Freire 1970). In
the banking concept of education, children are treated as slaves and the teacher presents himself
as a competitor of the students. However in libertarian education concentrate more on the
creative development of the children by providing them with the freedom to choose their acts
and thinking from the perspective of the children. This educational system comprises of the act
of cognition instead of transferrals of education (Beckett 2013). During a problem-solving
session, the banking educational system treats students as an object of assistance. However, in
problem-posing education, critical thinking is encouraged by the teacher. Thus it can be said that
that the problem-posing education is revolutionary futurity.
According to the researcher, children’s freedom should be defined in an active way which
means freedom to participate, not freedom from any types of constraints. In order to deal with
the tension between child-centred classroom and the control of the teacher, various theories have
been discussed below. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development imposes stress on the supremacy
of development over learning. According to the theory, development is a dominant process