Philosophy with children : learning to live well

Philosophy with Children, in all its guises, aims to engender philosophical thinking and reasoning in children. Much is written about what participation in philosophy might do for children academically and emotionally. What is proposed here is that by allowing children to participate in philosophical dialogue they will learn an approach that might support their participation in society which might involve them in the consideration and airing of their views, making decisions and their interactions and relationships with others. It is inevitable that by living with others one encounters others’ values. It is essential, therefore, that children learn how to deal with others’ values but also that they learn how to develop their own through questioning and reflection. Rather than teach children about values or teach them the values they should hold, this article suggests that children should be afforded opportunities to explore a range of perspectives but that they need to learn how to do this. In addition, though, in order to live harmoniously with others, there are considerations beyond ethics to be encountered. Children need to learn how to engage with politics, art, science, literature, and the wider range of issues that comprise life in a society. Indeed, children need to learn what is required of being a citizen. Here the learning of the child is contextualised in the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, where children are expected to be able “to make informed choices and decisions” and to “develop informed, ethical views of complex issues” (Scottish Executive, 2004, p.12) as part of their education for citizenship. If being a citizen involves these elements, then there is a challenge to teachers as to how children will achieve the desired outcomes. The aim of such a curriculum is that children ‘learn for life’ by acquiring life skills in order that society will benefit. It is posited, in this article, that by participating in philosophical dialogue one is likely to foster appreciation for others and their perspectives, that one’s own values and opinions evolve, and that this philosophical outlook may, in fact, work for the betterment of society. Indeed, what is suggested is that in doing philosophy one learns how to live well

Scottish primary education : philosophy and practice

This chapter discusses the philosophy and practice of Scottish primary education

Investigating the extent to which children use mobile phone application stores

This paper reports the results of a short survey aimed at examining the extent to which children use mobile phone application stores. Aspects investigated included whether children used application stores on their own or parents’ devices, how children use application stores and whether they think app stores could be improved. The key contribution of this paper is the provision of evidence that children are prolific users of smart phone application stores, children are using both their parents phones and their own phones to access app stores and over half the children who download games do so at a rate of 1-2 per week. The paper also looks at how children choose the games they do on the app store and their view on how easy it is to find their chosen game. Over half the children who download games do so either having played the game before or on the recommendation of a friend. The findings raise issues about the design of app store interfaces / information architectures and whether or not children should be considered in the design of future app store interfaces

Community of philosophical inquiry : citizenship in Scottish classrooms

The context for the study is the current curriculum reform in Scotland (Curriculum for Excellence) which demands that teachers enable children to become ‘Responsible Citizens’. Education for Citizenship, as opposed to Citizenship Education, in Scotland is not a discrete subject; the objective is that citizenship permeates everything that happens throughout school, academically and socially. It is centrally situated alongside children becoming ‘effective contributors’, ‘successful learners’ and ‘confident individuals’. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of Community of Philosophical Inquiry (CoPI) as a pedagogical tool to enhance citizenship attributes in Scottish children in a range of educational settings. In order, first, to get an insight into the teachers’ perspectives on the Education for Citizenship agenda in Scotland, the teachers were asked for their definitions of ‘citizen’. Similarly, the children were also asked about their notion of ‘citizen’. The children’s group betrayed a more political understanding of ‘citizen’ than the teachers. Before and after an extended series of CoPI sessions, the 133 participating children from the ages of five to eighteen, in formal and informal educational contexts, were presented with dilemmas designed to elicit responses which indicated their ability to make, what Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Executive, 2004) would describe as ‘informed choices and decisions and to articulate informed, ethical views of complex issues’. The sessions were facilitated by class teachers who were trained in CoPI. The results indicate that children’s reason giving was enhanced by participation in CoPI. The article uses contributions from the children to highlight areas of their lives within school and in society beyond school, where doing philosophy has had an impact. The implications both for education for citizenship and the potential of Philosophy with Children to contribute to an enhanced school curriculum will also be discussed

Collective worship in Scotland

No abstract available

Promoting human rights through philosophy with children

While much has been written about children’s rights and children’s human rights, little appears to have been said about the place children have in the promotion of human rights. This article considers the concept of child in conjunction with citizenship education to take forward children’s promotion of human rights. It is proposed that one approach, where individuals explore views and come to this through reason, dialogue and community engagement, would be through Philosophy with Children (PwC). PwC provides space for children to engage in the political, that they might explore questions relevant to their lives as beings in society. Such activity would not only prepare children for the political world, since this sees the child as deficit, but would facilitate their engagement politically as children. The article proposes that philosophically deliberative children are required in order to support any society interested in the promotion of human rights

Wellbeing, being well or well becoming: who or what is it for and how might we get there?

This chapter explores the notion of wellbeing in relation to the pursuit of the good life. In doing so, it asserts that treating children as in a state of becoming is disempowering for children. In considering the good life, it is proposed that being well and living well are central and that this is facilitated through critical reflection and philosophical dialogue. The need for thinking that impacts on action is maintained and that ultimately the pursuit of the good life involves thinking of others as well as oneself

Philosophy with children : a rights-based approach to deliberative participation

In advancing children’s rights, and human rights more broadly, this article supports the view that participation through deliberation by children is desirable. Practising Philosophy with Children, through an approach such as Community of Philosophical Inquiry, is proposed as a powerful way forward as a rights-based means of supporting children to deliberate about matters affecting them in society. In considering that children are educated about, through and for rights, an example of children’s philosophical dialogue is provided to illustrate children deliberating on rights issues, and how teachers might use such dialogue to influence their teaching in this area. The suggestion is that participating in practical philosophy enables children to practise human rights behaviour as means of participating beyond consultation exercises and as an approach to facilitating their engagement with ideas and issues that are important to the promotion of rights for all

Philosophy with children : considering factors to facilitate voice

This article proposes that children's voice is important. It also suggests that one way in which children's voice might be supported is through Philosophy with Children. However, when teachers undertake Philosophy with Children to promote children's voice, it is important that they reflect on their role and the practice to consider how that role and practice enable children's voice. One way in which teachers might do this is by considering the seven factors for enabling children's voice identified through the Look Who's Talking project. The seven factors are as follows: definition, power, inclusivity, listening, time and space, approaches, processes and purposes. The article takes each element in turn to consider the ways in which Philosophy with Children might align with them and offers questions teachers may ask of themselves and their practice. As there is a range of approaches to Philosophy with Children, the article focuses on one model: Community of Philosophical Inquiry