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

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

Scottish primary education : philosophy and practice

This chapter discusses the philosophy and practice of Scottish primary education

Fostering citizenship in marginalised children through participation in Community of Philosophical Inquiry

Given the key drivers around citizenship education, children’s rights, voice, and participation it is essential that all children are supported to engage in the society in which they live. This article explores how Community of Philosophical Inquiry (CoPI) might offer that support to children who are potentially marginalised due to their specific needs. The article presents three case studies of children at risk of being marginalised in school settings who participated in CoPI over a period of ten weeks. CoPI has features that may be conducive to the achievement of broad goals associated with children’s voice and citizenship education. The article explores the ways in which these particular children engaged with CoPI and the impact of participation on their behaviour. The analysis of the accounts of their teachers supports the hypothesis that potentially marginalised children appear to benefit from the structure that is inherent in this form of practical philosophy

Collective worship in Scotland

No abstract available

Philosophy with children : facilitating children's voices on childhood

Increasingly there is a search for participatory research methods that work to ensure children’s authentic voices are heard. In this presentation we will propose that Philosophy with Children might be employed as a research method that facilitates children’s participation and voice in research. Further, it may also impact positively in children’s wider participation and engagement in recognising children’s agency and conceptual autonomy. We will discuss the advantages of using philosophical dialogue as a method for collecting data and will also consider challenges that arise from using Philosophy with Children as a research tool. In discussing the challenges and opportunities afforded by such a method, the presentation will draw on two studies to exemplify the approach. One study explored what kind of society children want to live in, and the second is an on-going international study that aims to explore children’s conceptions of child/childhood. We will also suggest that using Philosophy with Children might be considered as addressing the need for rights-based approaches to research as in affording children ownership of the dialogue it does not assume children as deficient in their capacities and it recognises children’s particular perspectives on the world. In addition, we will suggest that using a philosophical approach to gathering children’s views might offer a deeper insight into their thinking of and understanding about the world. Elements of the approaches used in the study will be discussed in order to gauge the strengths and limitations of using practical philosophy as a means of gathering data in subsequent analysis. In juxtaposition to the Philosophy with Children approach discussed, we will comment briefly on the use of an alternative research method, Nominal Group Technique, which was also used in the first project. In comparing the two approaches we aim to show where Philosophy with Children may provide richer and deeper evidence when seeking children’s views. While the presentation will not share the findings of either of the projects mentioned above, the approach taken in using Philosophy with Children as a research method, relates strongly to the findings of the initial project and the goals of the Children’s Voices on Childhood project. In using Philosophy with Children, it will be proposed that, while there may be some limitations in using the approach, it takes account of children’s voices in research; it affords opportunities to explore children’s conceptual thinking and the application to ‘real life’; it allows children to have ownership of the topic under consideration; and it potentially leads to addressing children’s status in wider society