


































International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

17 

 

HUMAN TRENDS, ESSENTIAL FACTOR IN EDUCATION 

 

Elena ȘTEFĂNIU 

Școala Tesori, Iași 

elenastefaniu@yahoo.com 

 

Abstract 

From the point of view of Maria Montessori, adaptation is the well-being and serenity that 

offers the child the inner balance. From this perspective, the Montessorian strategy relies on 

education based on the nature of the child and his needs in the environment, so that he 

understands his role in the world.Human development is always accompanied by human, 

physical and spiritual needs: food, protection, security and love.Children need their own 

experiences to better understand and value what surrounds them, the environment.The adult 

must provide appropriate support to the child in the second development plan, of the rational 

spirit.In order to meet his needs, man is led by certain creative energies. These give it a 

strong impetus to explore the environment and to deeply exploit its being. Thanks to them and 

the inner will to be active, the child benefits from this opportunity and adapts to any society. 

These impulses are human tendencies. 

 

 Keywords: human nature; needs, wellness; protection; 

 

Adaptation: wellness, serenity, interior balance and human nature 

In  its evolution, human nature follows universal, timeless laws. Specialized studies on human 

development highlight that the period of childhood is essential in the formation of 

intelligence, personality and social behaviour. Fields research such as psychology, nutrition, 

sociology, anthropology, education  reinforce the idea that the child always develops his own 

internal program. 

 

Maria Montessori argues that for the child the adaptation to the environment comes from the 

feeling of security, which has its roots in the balance between the fundamental elements of 

life: spirituality, ethics and economy. From her point of view, adaptation is the well-being and 

serenity that offers the child the inner balance. From this perspective, the Montessorian 

strategy relies on education based on the nature of the child and his needs in the environment, 

so that he understands his role in the world. “The psychological play between his family 

experiences and the ones he shares with his group determines the child to become an adult 

adapted to any environment in which he grows up.”(M. Montessori, 1956) From this point of 

view, stability plays a major role in adaptation, because it is the basis on which the fulfillment 

of a person's aspirations begins. 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

18 

 

 

 

The immovable nature of humanity: needs, interdependence, labor and recognition 

Human development is always accompanied by human, physical and spiritual needs: food, 

protection, security and love. Over time, these needs have remained the same "even if in the 

reality conditions change, but some things do not." (M. Montessori, 1956) Maria Montessori 

was convinced that some fundamental facts do not change, whatever the historical era, and 

some relate to children. From this perspective, it is known that the human being needs food, 

clothing, shelter and other essentials for life. With the satisfaction of these needs, another 

fundamental factor is also observed: the ways to ensure them. 

By reference to other beings, the humans are dominant entities. But alone, the man can do 

nothing, so he interacts with other people to meet his fundamental needs, because the human 

species "is part of a much larger organism: the cosmic organization." (M. Montessori, 1956)  

 

The cosmic organization is a whole of which the human being is an integral part and has his 

own role. In order to live, people need air, water, minerals, heat and food. To meet these 

needs, they need plants and animals. In turn, animals need plants to feed, water, heat and light 

to grow. "Vegetable waste, oxygen, is absorbed by humans and animals, therefore, it offers 

them one of the essential factors for their life." (M. Montessori, 1956) It is like a trophic chain 

in which each one has its own role. In fact, it is the interdependence between all living beings. 

Through the religious background, these aspects are miracles of faith because "God has 

arranged things so that every expression of creation is in the service of others.” (M. 

Montessori, 1956) Therefore, each form of life makes its own contribution to the preparation 

of the environment, so that all who come will have the best conditions. It is like a service 

offered to someone else, who is always a part of life and in relation to this gift, in order to be 

in one's service, people need to be grateful. Educators need to find the right method to help 

children know these values. “The reality and wonder of creation must be treated in such a way 

that the child not only finds it, but also integrates it into its affective (nature) side.” (M. 

Montessori, 1956) The rational spirit is capable of building, with love, a solid basis for 

gratitude to nature and to others. (Posteucă, 2005). 

 

The society as a source of protection 

After planting the seeds of gratitude, educators have another cosmic task: to teach them what 

humanity is. In other words, to give them the key to the world  through their own experiences. 

Children need their own experiences to better understand and value what surrounds them, the 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

19 

environment. "Every effort you make to make children better adults than they would have 

been without this help, not only benefits the children themselves, but many people you don't 

know." (M. Montessori, 1956) This generosity has a particularity: it is anonymous. In fact, 

this generosity conceals an exceptional form of love for one's neighbour. Thus, society 

unconsciously deals with all living beings. In this way, all living beings are in the service of 

others, and children can understand how the world and social relationships work, thanks to 

their experiences. This form of generosity reveals the unity of humanity. It must be reinforced 

by insisting on presenting each other's work, because "the child will thus develop with the 

force of an instinct, with the feeling that mankind has the right not only to respect, but also to 

gratitude and admiration." (M. Montessori, 1956) 

 

Help the child to update their trends in his community: the world 

The adult must provide appropriate support to the child in the second development plan, of 

the rational spirit. (Eşi, 2014) Sensory exploration is no longer satisfying at this stage of 

development. Maria Montessori believes that a child must adapt to the contemporary world, 

not just his nation. Adults must open the city gate to the children, because the world is their 

fortress in favourable conditions of life, even if these conditions undergo transformations. If a 

child moves and lives somewhere else, he has the same fundamental needs: movement, 

exploration, food, water, shelter. The Montessori approach encourages adults to observe and 

base on what is important for life and development, because "the essence of these approaches 

is to help the child's development and to help the child adapt to the present conditions." (M. 

Montessori, 1956) 

 

Regarding cognitive development, the fundamental aspects do not change. They allow 

children to adapt to any society, because they are nothing but human tendencies, as called by 

specialists, who act regardless of the conditions in which children live. 

 

Primordial factors: human trends towards instincts 

In order to meet his needs, man is led by certain creative energies. These give it a strong 

impetus to explore the environment and to deeply exploit its being. Thanks to them and the 

inner will to be active, the child benefits from this opportunity and adapts to any society. 

These impulses are human tendencies. 

 

Mario Montessori presents the human tendencies as the instincts present in both humans and 

animals. Initially, animals were superior to humans due to their physical development and 

instincts. For example, the cat can use a specific language from birth and can conquer its 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

20 

environment from the earliest days of life. As for people, the situation is different. Due to 

their experiences and efforts, they have developed intelligence and ability to understand, 

because the mind is nourished with suggestions, inspirations and problems. 

Maria Montessori launches the idea that human tendencies are different according to the 

sensitive periods the child goes through. Sensitive periods are closely linked to developmental 

phenomena, as the environment determines the needs of the human being. For her, sensitive 

periods are characteristic of the child's life. Each child has gone through their evolution and 

has adapted to the environment, highlighting hereditary and immutable human tendencies. 

Thus, human tendencies manifest themselves in different ways, depending on the 

development plan. In the case of children, they are more pronounced during sensitive periods. 

At the physical, psychological, social and human level, human development will be achieved 

at the level of each plan. Physically, the tendency to communicate will materialize through 

moving lips, hands to support the idea in its argumentation. At the psychological level, it will 

be the will to communicate, the communication of feelings, the internal communication, and 

at the social level the tendency to communicate will be manifested through the search for the 

interlocutors. 

 

The importance that Maria Montessori attaches to childhood, especially during sensitive 

periods, highlights those key ideas, which underpin the method: the absorbing spirit and the 

rational spirit of the child. "The absorbing spirit is the unconscious creative force, which helps 

the child to build his or her psychic self and personality, adapted to his environment." (Uma 

Ramani, 2017-2019) Thanks to this absorbing spirit, the child records the impressions 

integrally, globally and instantly: the material conditions, the relationships between and 

between people and objects, behaviours and means of communication, as well as the social, 

moral and emotional values. Thus, "these impressions not only penetrate the child's spirit, but 

also form it; they incarnate because the child always realizes his own mental structure, using 

the things that are in his environment." (M. Montessori, 2010) The absorbing spirit does not 

discriminate anything. It is unique and specific to each child in the first stage of development 

from 0 to 6 years. This is the plan in which "the child is an explorer of facts, that is why the 

prepared environment offers him the activities and the essence of the world." (M. E. 

Stephenson, 1986) A little later, when the child has acquired the freedom adapted to the social 

life of family and close friends, but also a certain degree of responsibility for the environment, 

education appeals to the imagination, characteristic of the rational spirit. In the second 

development plan, from 6 to 12 years of age, when the absorbing spirit is replaced by the 

rational spirit, the child is no longer content merely to observe and explore. He is trying to 

discover the cause of the effect. That is why imagination has absolute value when it is based 

on reality, because “its creative spirit is a means of processing the data of reality.” (M. 

Montessori, 2016) 

 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

21 

There is no doubt that development takes place in all living beings. If in human case we are 

talking about human tendencies, being preoccupied with accomplishing different things to 

survive and using their intelligence to understand them, in animals there are only instincts. 

"Each species has a special guide that tells them what to eat, how to behave, what movements 

to make. Everything is prescribed to them." (M. Montessori, 1956) Maria Montessori believes 

that the human being benefits from a true potential to intensify its development: intelligence, 

the bipedal position, which frees its hands, so it can use them to achieve what the free spirit 

wants. The activities of adaptation to the environment refine human tendencies as man 

develops. Each human being has a cosmic task: the child - to self-build and to create, through 

his own experiences, a higher level of humanity, and the adult to reveal the soul of the child 

with patience and love. Whatever the stages of human development, love is the vital function 

to learn spontaneously and to provoke interest in the environment. 

 

Human trends 

In building his spirit and social personality, the child uses human tendencies. One of the first 

trends that appears in the evolution of the child is orientation. The child has a special 

sensitivity for order, for the order of things. "Before the direction of orientation has been 

internalized, the position of the objects on which this sense is based must remain stable." (M. 

Montessori, 1956) 

 

Maria Montessori attached great importance to the order of the child environment, as this not 

only allows her to be positioned in the environment but serves as an inner compass in her 

further development.The tendency of orientation influences another tendency: the 

exploration, which is based on the strongest impulses, because man explores to survive. This 

tendency is the strongest in children, because they have an intense curiosity that they want to 

satisfy. Any small thing or a closed box or a corner of the house, as far away as possible, is a 

real discovery game. 

 

Exploration and discovery stimulate the tendency to observe. Children love to watch how the 

smallest insects go, how the cats feed. They can spend a lot of time observing life on earth. 

The rational spirit allows them to imagine the place where insects rest or go to meet their 

family. The imagination is the source that feeds the rational spirit.So that all children "possess 

the reasoning that allows them to abstract. They want to have things that they do not have and 

thanks to the imagination used wisely they can do anything." (M. Montessori, 1956) The 

rational spirit is supported in the production of ideas by the creative imagination and by 

abstraction, which are characteristic of the child in the second development plan, 6-12 years. 

Abstracting, the tendency to support the understanding and to discover things, so that the 

internalized information is organized and classified into notions and classes, giving the child a 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

22 

mental order, the logic of the established relationships and a global and systematic view of the 

world. 

 

To realize the ideas, children need to train their hands and body, which is why other 

tendencies take shape: the tendency to work, to gain experience, to practice, and for this they 

are willing to make efforts to eliminate errors and to meet another trend: accuracy, accuracy. 

"For the awakening and development of his intelligence, the child must have the opportunity 

to exercise an activity, to work with his hands, to demonstrate control over his errors." (M. 

Montessori, 1956) 

 

Children are provided with a natural logic, reinforced by the mathematical spirit present in 

nature and which they use to achieve their goals. (Eşi, 2016)  Precision supports the tendency 

to perfect, to fulfil a purpose, so that they emphasize the power of conscious control, which 

leads them to self-control, of vital importance for the future adult. Repetition gives the child 

the power to master himself, which produces great satisfaction. Such work provides the child 

with serenity and joy. Thus, he does not feel mental fatigue, on the contrary, his mind rests. 

 

The role of the child in adapting to the environment 

But what is missing from the child when labour causes fatigue? The answer is simple and 

natural: pleasure and enthusiasm. Maria Montessori has always maintained that without the 

motivation of the mind, assimilation is difficult, and fatigue follows. Forced labour is what 

causes fatigue. Work becomes a game and attracts the feeling of strength, serenity and joy 

when the motivation is the starting point. (Eşi - Posteucă, 2019). 

 

The child has the power to adapt to any environment. He possesses the freedom of expression 

of his creative spirit thanks to his experiences. The environment to which it is exposed 

influences its development in every plane of human evolution. Every child uses the rational 

spirit and values the tendency to observe. Everything he feels and sees - feelings, emotions 

and needs are transformed into words. Thanks to social relationships and experiences, the 

child quickly understands the laws of communication. 

Maria Montessori claimed that around the child, the first nucleus of the society, the people 

guided by a common interest and communication, formed the first group. In addition, the 

power of love and spiritual communication formed the soul of the group. 

 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

23 

It is well known that in the face of the force of nature and of its power impossible to conquer, 

human beings began to believe in deities. And, maybe, that's how the faith came about. It is 

closely related to nature - the sun god, the god of fire. These deities and beliefs brought with 

them the feeling of gratitude and gratitude, the laws and the need to pay tribute in order to 

obtain goodwill. 

 

Later, religions brought a sense of guilt. In Antiquity, the spiritual universe became stronger 

than the material universe. In some parts of the world today spiritual life is dominant. 

Maria Montessori considered the child an avid spirit, capable of assimilating customs, 

religions and cultures. From this point of view, human tendencies are divided into two axes - 

the tendencies of adaptation to the environment and the tendencies of assimilating customs 

and culture. 

 

In today's society, there is the possibility that any child wishing to belong to a group can 

assimilate its culture: a malicious language, harmful habits, and the spirit of ignoring the laws. 

For the weaker children, drugs and alcohol are the best ways to escape from a world that 

seems to not understand them, feeding on the illusion that they can give them the feeling of 

well-being and safety. For them, life made up of short, but magical episodes is the only valid 

reality, which they seek with an unstoppable thirst. Sometimes, returning to everyday reality 

can cause great turmoil, even voluntary or involuntary suicide.On the one hand, the 

technology exposes the child to social networks by offering her an apparent socialization and 

an addiction that is difficult to manage. He enters a virtual reality, attracted by the charm of a 

challenging world. The researchers called this addiction a form of autism, virtual autism, 

which produces essential changes in the child's behaviour. The child no longer feels the need 

to interact with the environment, his neurological development being affected. 

 

On the other hand, another difficulty that children face in contemporary society is the 

expectations of parents, who project their own dreams into them. Thus, the quality time they 

can spend together and cannot be quantified turns into successive courses of ballet, 

swimming, horseback riding, piano, karate or yoga. This reinforces Maria Montessori's 

assertion that the adult plays a vital role in the child's life: the guide in meeting the 

fundamental needs meant to train a wise adult. 

 

 

 

 

 

 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

Volume 7 / Issue 13 / 2020 

24 

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Eşi - Posteucă, N. L. (2019). Social and psychological benefits of self-dislosure. International 

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http://www.academia.edu/download/35944084/IJSEI_ASOC_1.pdf#page=91
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https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=516251
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https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=319658
https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=319658

