Re: Safety Needs Essay
Bernd Manison
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Humans need a number of essentials to survive. According to the renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow and the conflict scholar John Burton, these essentials go beyond just food, water, and shelter. They include both physical and non-physical elements needed for human growth and development, as well as all those things humans are innately driven to attain.
For Maslow, needs are hierarchical in nature. That is, each need has a specific ranking or order of obtainment. Maslow's needs pyramid starts with the basic items of food, water, and shelter. These are followed by the need for safety and security, then belonging or love, self-esteem, and finally, personal fulfillment.[1] Burton and other needs theorists who have adopted Maslow's ideas to conflict theory, however, perceive human needs in a different way -- as an emergent collection of human development essentials.[2] Furthermore, they contend needs do not have a hierarchical order. Rather, needs are sought simultaneously in an intense and relentless manner.[3] Needs theorists' list of human essentials include:
Human needs theorists argue that one of the primary causes of protracted or intractable conflict is people's unyielding drive to meet their unmet needs on the individual, group, and societal level.[4] For example, the Palestinian conflict involves the unmet needs of identity and security. Countless Palestinians feel that their legitimate identity is being denied them, both personally and nationally. Numerous Israelis feel they have no security individually because of suicide bombings, nationally because their state is not recognized by many of their close neighbors, and culturally because anti-Semitism is growing worldwide. Israeli and Palestinian unmet needs directly and deeply affect all the other issues associated with this conflict. Consequently, if a resolution is to be found, the needs of Palestinian identity and Israeli security must be addressed and satisfied on all levels.
Human needs theorists offer a new dimension to conflict theory. Their approach provides an important conceptual tool that not only connects and addresses human needs on all levels. Furthermore, it recognizes the existence of negotiable and nonnegotiable issues.[5] That is, needs theorists understand that needs, unlike interests, cannot be traded, suppressed, or bargained for.[6] Thus, the human needs approach makes a case for turning away from traditional negotiation models that do not take into account nonnegotiable issues. These include interest-based negotiation models that view conflict in terms of win-win or other consensus-based solutions, and conventional power models (primarily used in the field of negotiation and international relations) that construct conflict and conflict management in terms of factual and zero-sum game perspectives.[7]
The human needs approach, on the other hand, supports collaborative and multifaceted problem-solving models and related techniques, such as problem-solving workshops or an analytical problem-solving process. These models take into account the complexity of human life and the insistent nature of human needs.[8] Problem-solving approaches also analyze the fundamental sources of conflict, while maintaining a focus on fulfilling peoples' unmet needs. In addition, they involve the interested parties in finding and developing acceptable ways to meet the needs of all concerned.
Human needs theorists further understand that although needs cannot be compromised, they can be addressed in a generally win-win or positive-sum way.[9] An example of this win-win or positive sum process can be gleaned from the Kosovo conflict. When the Albanians obtained protective security, the Serbs also gained this protection, so both sides gained.[10]
However, many questions and uncertainties surround the human needs approach to solving conflicts. For instance, how can one define human needs? How can one know what needs are involved in conflict situations? How can one know what human needs are being met and unmet? Are human needs cultural or universal in nature? If they are cultural, is the analysis of human needs beneficial beyond a specific conflict? Are some needs inherently more important than others? If some needs are more important, should these be pursued first?
Other critics of the human needs approach assert that many conflicts involve both needs and interests. So, conflict resolution cannot come about by just meeting human needs. For example, when looking at the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, it is understood that both needs (identity, security, freedom) and interests (i.e., resource allocation, international boundaries) are involved. Consequently, even if the needs of both parties get met, the conflict will probably not be resolved. Resolution can only come about when both needs and interests are dealt with.[11]
Nevertheless, most scholars and practitioners agree that issues of identity, security, and recognition, are critical in many or even most intractable conflicts. They may not be the only issue, but they are one of the important issues that must be dealt with if an intractable conflict is to be transformed. Ignoring the underlying needs and just negotiating the interests may at times lead to a short-term settlement, but it rarely will lead to long-term resolution.
[4] Terrell A. Northrup, "The Dynamic of Identity in Personal and Social Conflict," in Intractable Conflicts and their Transformation, ed. Louis Kriesberg, Terrell A. Northrup and Stuart J. Thorson (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1989), 55-82.
[5] Roger A. Coate and Jerel A. Rosati, "Human Needs in World Society," in The Power of Human Needs in World Society, ed. Roger A. Coate and Jerel A. Rosati (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1988), 1-20.
[6] David J. Carroll, Jerel A. Rosati, and Roger A. Coate, "Human Needs Realism: A Critical Assessment of the Power of Human Needs in World Society," in The Power of Human Needs in World Society, ed. Roger A. Coate and Jerel A. Rosati (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1988), 257-274.
Use the following to cite this article:
Marker, Sandra. "Unmet Human Needs." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: August 2003 .
Supervision describes the ways adults help protect children from injury or other harm. Supervision is an active process. It involves watching, listening, interacting, monitoring, and preventing problems.
You can see that supervision is much more than watching. It involves all your skills as a teacher and caregiver. Supervision is your responsibility and commitment to the families who have trusted you with their children. It is also your responsibility and commitment to the children who rely on you for guidance, nurturing, protection, and support.
In most circumstances, you should use direct and active supervision. This means an adult should be able to see and hear all preschool children at all times. This includes indoors, outdoors, and nap times. Caregivers and teachers should not be on one level of the building while children are on another floor or in another room. Ratios should remain the same whether inside or outside.
For older preschool children who request privacy in the restroom, it is appropriate to supervise by remaining in hearing distance for short periods of time. Short intervals without sight of children are permissible only during toileting. Although you may not be able to see the child, you or another adult can quickly intervene if help is needed.
You will also need to adapt your supervision to the children in your care. All children have different needs. Very young children, children with special health care needs, children with disabilities, or children with behavioral needs may require additional supervision.
Supervision is an active process. It includes recognizing risks, acting on risks, and talking with children. Watch how these teachers use active supervision strategies to guide children's behavior and prevent harm.
Because families have trusted you with their children, you must ensure the safety of each child from the time they enter the program until the time an approved parent or family member has signed them out. Children move very quickly, and it is not uncommon for children to attach themselves to another group, slip out an open door, or hide during a transition. There are several important strategies for ensuring that all children are accounted for at all times, according to Caring for Our Children:
Good classroom design is the first step in effective supervision. You should design your classroom with low shelves, clear traffic patterns, and safe materials. You must also teach children the safety rules for the classroom. Your daily safety inspection should ensure that you have taken all preventive measures to keep children safe.
Preschool children still need supervision during rest time. Usually, preschool-age children rest during a set time of the day (rather than napping on individual schedules like infants and toddlers). During rest time, typical ratios are relaxed. One adult can supervise all children, however, the staff member who leaves the classroom must stay in the facility and be available to assist in the event of an emergency or evacuation. Maximum group size must be maintained. Multiple full classes cannot be combined and supervised by a single adult. It is required for at least one adult to stay in the room with children during rest time. This helps monitor and support children who do not sleep, children who wake early, and children who may have sleep problems. Just like on the playground, it is critical that the supervising adult be able to call other adults for help without leaving the room.
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