Philosophy with children links

[Link page without descriptions]

Scandinavian

Philosophical dialogues with children about computer games – with video examples (Norwegian)

In 2011 and 2012 Children and Youth Philosophers, in cooperation with Philosophical Project Centre, carried out a major philosophy school project in Norway. The aim was to facilitate philosophical dialogues with 5-8th graders concerning their relationship to computer games. We visited many schools and had dialogues with smaller and larger groups. All dialogues were recorded on video and this site presents lots of edited excerpts. The site also offers information on "the philosophy of computer games" – a niche that occupies more and more professional philosophers.

Philosophical dialogues in the Norwegian Peoples Church's religious education (Norwegian)

Children and Youth Philosophers home page for all who are interested in philosophical practise in a religious setting. This home page was created as part of religious education projects in the Norwegian Peoples Church but it is now independent.

Philosophise together (Norwegian)

Filosofere sammen is a Norwegian non-profit organisation that promotes philosophical dialogue in society. Everyone who offers philosophical dialogues to groups, pupils, small children or to individuals, and everyone who supports the aim of practicing philosophical dialogue on different arenas in society—for example in school, kindergarten/pre-school, prison, public health service and institutions, private sector and organisational life—are invited to become members. Filosofere sammen aims to be a professional and open meeting point for practitioners as well as for supporters of the philosophical dialogue in all its varying shapes and forms.

Maiberget Philosophy Club (Norwegian)

In the autumn 2000 we started our very first philosophy club, in our own living room. We recruited children and youth from the neighbourhood. Unfortunately the club discontinued the following autumn, for practical reasons, but we managed to create a web page containing minutes and pictures of the participants.

Skoletorget.no (Norwegian, many pages in English)

Skoletorget (which means "the school market/square") is Children and Youth Philosopher's site for the entire primary and secondary school in Norway. We offer teaching material in the six basic subjects: Norwegian, English, Social Studies, Religion, Mathematics and Natural Science. Philosophical questions and dialogues are an integral part of all the teaching material that is presented on Skoletorget.

International organisations

SOPHIA – European Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy with Children

«SOPHIA is at heart a welcoming, open and inclusive community of people who practice philosophy with children (pwc) in Europe. Through SOPHIA pwc practitioners share network, research and practise, and support one another and collaborate in joint European projects.»

MENON – Developing dialogue through philosophical enquiry

MENON is a Comenius-project of 11 European partners which aims to encourage teachers' professional growth by developing their dialogical sensitivity and skills through philosophical enquiry. As a consequence of this widening of teachers' perspectives and skills, the project is effectively aiming also to convert classrooms into communities of enquiry where dialogue is searched. Children will learn not only basic skills such as listening and responding, but also dispositions for lifelong learning and participation, such as curiosity, reasonableness and openness to others' perceptions and cultures.

International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children (ICPIC)

The objective of ICPIC is to strengthen communications among those in different parts of the world who are engaged in philosophical inquiry with children, in teacher education, in research and for school administrators looking to initiate and develop programs that would encourage children's philosophical thinking. Membership in the Council is open to all who support this objective.

Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC)

IAPC—founded by Matthew Lipman—provides curriculum materials for engaging young people (pre-school through high school) in philosophical inquiry and provides teacher preparation in the pedagogy of the classroom community of inquiry. The IAPC also conducts philosophical and empirical research in teaching pre-college philosophy and the uses of philosophy for educational objectives including critical and creative thinking, social democracy and ethical judgment.

England/UK

The Philosophy Doctor

Catherine McCall, leader of EPIC – Applied Philosophy and the foundation SOPHIA and a key figure in the international p4c-movement, has created her own "consultancy business" called "The Philosophy Doctor." Here she will answer questions, publish videos etc. McCall is a doctor of philosophy, hence the name of the business.

The Philosophy Man

Jason Buckley is a former school teacher and handyman living in Chelmsford, England. He runs the one-man company «The Philosophy Man» offering lectures, workshops and courses on philosophy for children for teachers. Buckley also produces a series of different philosophical educational resources. He is accredited trainer with the charity Sapere and is also an active contributor to p4c.com

The Philosophy Shop

The Philosophy Shop is a Community Interest Company that teaches philosophy in schools and in the community. Offer training to philosophy graduates in how to deliver philosophy in schools and run adult courses in philosophy, and also offer one-to-one philosophical counselling sessions.

EPIC

EPIC (the European Philosophical Inquiry Centre) was founded by Dr. Catherine McCall in Glasgow, Scotland in 1990 in order to deliver Philosophical Inquiry projects with children, schools, business and communities, and to create postgraduate courses (offered in both Strathclyde and Glasgow universities) to train PI facilitators. In 1993 EPIC moved to Glasgow University where M.Phil. postgraduates were involved with many schools and community PI projects. EPIC International Consultants continue to implement Philosophical Inquiry with adults and children in Scotland, Portugal, Germany, Bulgaria, Australia and England.

P4C.com

UK-philosophers/teachers James Nottingham, Steve Williams and Roger Sutcliffe have teamed up to create a subscription based online resource and collaboration service for philosophy with children.

SAPERE

SAPERE was set up in 1992 following interest aroused by the BBC television documentary Socrates for six year olds. This hour-long film focused on the work of Professor Matthew Lipman and his associates (including Catherine McCall) in New Jersey who, over the past 25 years, have developed a curriculum for 5 to 16 year olds known as Philosophy for Children. SAPERE seeks to build on Lipman's work and promote his and other approaches to developing better reasoning, more reflective consideration of values and the development of communities of enquiry at all levels of education and in a wide variety of contexts.

Education for Citizenship—Philosophy in schools

Helping young people develop critical and independent thinking skills is central to the work of schools. There are many ways to do this, but one interesting approach is philosophical enquiry. In this section we look at how it relates to education for citizenship, where you can go to find out more and offer some examples of good practice.

Childrenthinking

Childrenthinking is a business run by two teachers in Norwich: Sara Stanley and Maria Cornish. They provide practice-based training for teachers and educators in the area of Philosophy with Children. Karin Murris' work in Philosophy with Children using picture-books is the basis of their work. Karin's work in turn is based on Matthew Lipman's method of Philosophy for Children using specially written texts. They have developed their own work through experience, training and research and offer workshops that are challenging and thought-provoking as well as highly practical.

Tuckswood School, Norfolk, England

At Tuckswood philosophical debate underpins the ideas and values of the way we believe our school should be. We aim to create an environment, which provides opportunities for everyone working in it (adults and children) to be the best they can. Children need to feel safe and happy and have the freedom to explore ideas, and ask questions if they are to make a useful contribution to all areas of school life. Philosophy is also an important way of teaching and developing thinking skills. Thinking skills are now embedded in the National Curriculum and complement the key skills. They are identified as crucial because: "by using thinking skills pupils can focus on 'knowing how' as well as 'knowing what'—(they are effectively) learning how to learn."

Northumberlands Raising Aspirations in Society (N-RAIS)

N-RAIS is an education and training project that operates in many of the areas of Northumberland where averages for family income, educational achievement and progression to higher education are low – the sorts of areas often described in official reports as 'disadvantaged'. Its innovations have been received enthusiastically by many teachers, pupils and parents because the project team have managed to demonstrate new possibilities for teaching and learning. [...]

Manorbier VCP School's Interactive Philosophy Site

Finally a site for children! Here the school presents philosophical questions that children are encouraged to answer by sending emails to the web editor. Answers will then be published on the site. Manorbier VCP School is a primary school located in South Wales (UK) and has applied philosophy with children (especially in combination with adventures and stories) since 1992.

Other European sites

Oscar Brenifier—Institute of Philosophical Practice

Home page of notorious French philosopher Oscar Brenifier. This is how he describes himself: PhD in philosophy, philosophy consultant, philosophy for children, didactics of philosophy, philosophy workshop, philosophical practice. Notice that Children and Youth Philosophers have published several texts by Brenifier.

See also the home pages of Institute of Philosophical Practices:
www.pratiques-philosophiques.com
www.institut-de-pratiques-philosophiques.com

Austrian Center of Philosophy with Children and Youth

The Austrian Center of Philosophy with Children was set up in 1985 to promote research in philosophy with children and to advance the field in theory and practice. The ACPC runs the Institute of Philosophy with Children. Fundamental impulses have come from the "Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children" (IAPC) at the Montclair State University (New Jersey, USA) where intensive research in the field of Philosophy with Children has been conducted since the late sixties. The Austrian Center of Philosophy for Children is an active member of the "International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children" (ICPIC) and founding member of the "European Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy with Children" (SOPHIA).

Centrum Kinderfilosofie Nederland

Centrum Kinderfilosofie Nederland builds on the work of the late Berrie Heesen. Heesen was one of the great P4C pioneers, not just in the Netherlands, and is particularly noted for his Journal 100—a philosophical magazine for children that was published in many European languages.

Mala Filozofija

Croatian P4C-site. Contains a description of a government supported project for 8-10 year olds called "Pettit Philosophy." "Pettit Philosophy is a philosophy program for children which is implemented in two schools in the small town of Zadar, in Croatia. [...] Most lessons include one or more stories, which are all closely related to the topic, and each topic includes one or more stories from mythology, literature or philosophy which are directly relevant to the theme."

Diálogos – Filosofia com Crianças... e outras idades

Portuguese centre for philosophy with children. Started in 2006 by teacher Maria Luisa Abreau, among others. The centre associates itself with Matthew Lipman and IAPC and is member of the organisation Associação de Professores de Sintra in Portugal. Unfortunately no English pages here.

Philosophy for children-web sites in Spain

From Félix García Moryón, one of the main promoters of philosophy for children in Spain, we have received a selection of Spanish philosophy for children-sites. Just one of them has an English language version, but for those of us who speak Spanish there is quite a lot of information contained here:

• El Centro de Filosofía para Niños de la Comunidad Valenciana
• Filosofía para Niños Madrid's Weblog
• GrupIREF – Innovation and Research on Teaching Philosophy Group (Catalonia)
• Filosofiaparaninos.org
• Crearmundos – Red de Redes

Other

PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization)

PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization) is dedicated to being a national voice for advocating for the introduction of philosophy into pre-college classrooms and to connecting the education and philosophy communities through programs, resource-sharing and the development of a national network of those working in pre-college philosophy.

Teaching Children Philosophy

The Course Website for Thomas Wartenberg's course, Philosophy for Children, in which his undergraduate students at Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, Massachusetts) teach philosophise with elementary school children. The site contains valuable book modules for a range of children’s books. The modules include short introductions to the philosophical issues raised by each book and questions to ask children to get a discussion started. Here's also a sample video, an interview with Thomas Wartenberg, and news about his book Big Ideas for Little Kids.

The Philosophy Toolbox

«The Philosophy Toolbox is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational effort to help teachers nurture thoughtful philosophical dialogue amongst their high school students. The focus of content will be the traditional issues of philosophy, and our mission is to help our young people become rational, thoughtful, caring members of our society. The Philosophy Toolbox is co-sponsored by The American Philosophical Association Committee on Pre-College Philosophy, and the North American High School Philosophers Association.»

Logic for Children Program

The Logic for Children program was designed to allow elementary school children the opportunity to be introduced to important philosophical and logical principles in a fun, engaging, and intellectually-safe environment. Students will get the chance to express themselves in a philosophically-guided discussion that will let them have fun and increase their creative-thinking abilities, logical skills, and most importantly their sense of wonder.

Intelligent Australia Productions/Nature's kids

Nature's kids provides teachers with stimulating ideas for written activities, class discussions and debates. These are especially useful in Philosophy for Children and Gifted and Talented Programs. Nature's kids is produced by Intelligent Australia Productions founded in Perth in 2004. IAP's books are written for primary and lower secondary students, and cover a wide range of subjects including Maths, English, Society and Environment, Science and the Arts.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Philosophy for Children

Here is a comprehensive article on P4C written by Michael S. Pritchard, professor of philosophy and director of The Center for the Study of Ethics in Society at Western Michigan University, USA. He is also the author of several books on the topic, e.g. Philosophical Adventures with Children, On becoming Responsible and Reasonable Children. The article has the following chapters:

• Are Children Capable of Philosophical Thinking?
• Philosophy in a Crowded Curriculum
• The Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC)
• Philosophizing With Others?
• Philosophy For Children Around The World

The Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children

Non-profit organization that brings philosophy into the lives of young people through programs in elementary, middle, and high schools, parent organizations, and other organizations serving young people, with a particular emphasis on reaching children who are at risk and educationally disadvantaged. For teachers, parents, and other interested adults, the Center offers workshops, given by educators trained in philosophy, about ways to facilitate philosophical dialogues with young people.

Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Associations (FAPSA)

Portal for all philosophy with children-organisations in Australia and New Zealand. The site has a comprehensive link page and describes also workshops and conferences directed by FAPSA.

Center for the Advancement of Philosophy in Schools, CAPS

The Center for the Advancement of Philosophy in the Schools (CAPS) brings philosophy into K-12 classrooms as a way of introducing philosophical issues and critical thinking skills to young people.

Philosophy for Kids

This is a web site for materials to use in doing philosophy with children. The site is inspired and produced from the work of Gary Matthews, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Kidsthinkaboutit.com

P4C curriculum resource run by Amy Leask, a Canadian freelance writer, editor and educator, with an Honours BA in English and Philosophy, and an MA in Philosophy. Her experience in education includes over ten years of curriculum design, the creation of teaching and learning resources, as well as in-class and online instruction.

CEFILNI—Centro de Filosofía para niños y niñas

Spanish and English language site which describes the work at CEFILNI, a school in Mexico run by Maria de los Angeles Alvarez Laso, founder of the school, and her Icelandic spouse Hrannar Baldursson. The site features a comprehensive international link page.

Philosophy Slam

The Kids Philosophy Slam is an annual program designed to make philosophy fun and accessible to all kids in grades K-12, as well as to help promote critical thinking skills and encourage dialogue with other students and adults. The Philosophy Slam asks kids to answer a philosophical question such as "What is the meaning of life?" Depending on their age, kids can express themselves in words, artwork, poetry or song. Each grade level has its own national winner, and the top four high school students debate the question at the national finals. The winner earns the title of "The Most Philosophical Student in America" Schools from across the country compete for the title of "The Most Philosophical School in America."

Philosophie pour les enfants à l'Université Laval

Canadian site (in French) mainly describing a course based on observations of three philosophical communities consisting of children from 5 to 12. The course contains 140 filmed sequences of children doing philosophy and is based on a television documentary. Downloadable mpegs.

Philosophy for KIDS

«Ever thought of using children's literature to teach elementary school children philosophy? Well, this web site contains all the materials that you need to do just that. We've assembled question sets for various different children's books that raise philosophic issues.»

Relevant sites

The Society for Philosophical Inquiry

The Society for Philosophical Inquiry (SPI) is a grassroots nonprofit organization devoted to supporting philosophical inquirers of all ages and walks of life as they become more empathetic and autonomous thinkers who take active part in creating a more deliberative democracy. Its members strive to form and facilitate "democratic communities of philosophical inquiry".

Teaching Philosophy Database

This database is a tool that seeks to provide bibliographical references on the Teaching of Philosophy at different levels. The construction of the base is the part of a research project entitled "Computerized Resources to subsidize the research in philosophy of education: creation of a database on the teaching of Philosophy" by Wanderson Flor do Nascimento under mentorship of Walter Omar Kohan. [...]

Critical Thinking Consortium

The Foundation and Center for Critical Thinking aim to improve instruction in primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities. We offer conferences and professional development programs, emphasizing assessment, research, instructional strategies, Socratic questioning, critical reading and writing, higher order thinking, quality enhancement, and competency standards.

Paideia.org

Paideia schools offer a unique approach to active learning. Paideia's two-fold goal is to teach all students to think, and to enable all adults in students' lives to see themselves as life-long learners. To this end, the Paideia classroom combines three instructional techniques: didactic instruction, coaching of academic skills, and Paideia seminar discussion. Together, these three types of instruction have been proven to enhance the literacy, problem solving, and thinking skills of students at all grade levels and abilities. Paideia is also known to enhance school climate and culture, leading to a safer overall environment for learning.

The Great Books Foundation

The Great Books Foundation is dedicated to helping people learn how to think and share ideas by educating them to become participants in, leaders of, and advocates for shared inquiry. Through text-based discussion, shared inquiry strengthens critical thinking and civil discourse, promotes reading and the appreciation of literature, and provides people of all ages with a powerful instrument for social engagement and lifelong learning.

Philosophy by Topic

Link page that aims to collect general philosophy resources on the net. "Philosophy for children" is also represented here.

Page created: 02.10.06. Page last modified: 22.02.13 00:05.