Magister Educationis - MEd / In this study I researched the effectiveness of a ‘Thinking Schools’ initiative at a local primary school between April 2010 and September 2011. I looked at how the school began the journey, what has changed in the school, the contextual factors that have influenced the process and what has sustained the school’s progress. As background to the study I discuss the importance and relevance of learned intelligence as explained by Vygotsky, thinking skills and cognitive education, and the whole school approach as opposed to individual teacher initiatives, as introduced by Burden in the United Kingdom. A local adaptation of Lipman’s ‘Philosophy for Children’ was the focus of this study, as it was chosen by the school as the starting point on their road to becoming a Thinking School. A qualitative research approach was used, using a constructivist paradigm and case study methodology, following the guidelines established by Stake (1995) and Yin (2003). The participants included the principal, together with selected teachers and learners and a curriculum advisor. Data collection took the form of interviews and a rating scale. The study found positive changes in teacher and learner thinking, supported by the ethos and stability of the school environment. The major challenge was that not all stakeholders were involved.

L’objet de cette thèse porte sur l’éducation aux valeurs à l’école primaire à travers un dispositif articulant des pratiques littéraires à celles de la philosophie pour enfants. Partant de l’idée que dans l’élaboration du jugement moral l’affectivité précède le travail de la raison nous avons voulu vérifier le rôle essentiel joué par l’imagination et l’empathie. Dans cette perspective, la littérature constitue une médiation privilégiée. Cette recherche s’appuie sur des séances menées dans des classes de cycle 3 à partir du mythe platonicien L’anneau de Gygès et s’attache à répondre à deux hypothèses principales : 1ère hypothèse : La discussion à visée philosophique, lorsqu'elle s'amorce à partir des fictions littéraires, développe chez les élèves, grâce au ressort de l'empathie envers les personnages de fiction et à la médiation de l'enseignant, des exigences éthiques et une capacité de réflexion approfondie sur les valeurs. 2ème hypothèse : Le rôle médiateur de l’adulte et la qualité de ses gestes professionnels est une des clés de ce développement. L’enjeu est de mettre à jour les conditions qui favoriseraient « la formation de la personne et du citoyen » afin que la littérature mérite de figurer dans le pilier « Culture humaniste » du socle commun de l’école primaire. / The objective of this thesis concerns the education of values at the primary school through a system combining literary practices to those of the philosophy for children. Guided by the idea that in the elaboration of moral judgement, the affectivity precedes the work of the reason, we wanted to verify the major role played by the imagination and the empathy. In this perspective, the literature held a privileged place in the mediation. This research is based on sessions organized in classes in the 3rd cycle as from the platonic myth : ‘the Ring of Gygès’ and tries to answer to two main hypotheses : 1st hypothesis : when the discussion with philosophy aims begins with literary fictions, the pupils tend to develop ethical requirements and a capacity of deep thinking on values thanks to the empathy they have for the fictive characters and the teacher’s mediation. 2nd hypothesis : the mediation played by the adult and the quality of his professional gestures is one of the key of this development. The issue is to demonstrate the conditions which would favour the ‘education of the person and the citizen’ in order that literature deserves to appear in the pillar ‘Humanist Culture’ of the common teaching of the primary school.

Actuellement au Québec, une majorité d’électeurs ont exprimé leur mécontentement vis-à-vis du système politique actuel. Les citoyens déclarent être privés de contrôle et ressentir un manque de choix réel dans le processus politique. À l’ère du populisme croissant, cela représente une préoccupation urgente pour assurer la vitalité de notre démocratie. L’objectif de ce mémoire est d’aborder la question de l’engagement civique et de la transformation sociale et politique à partir d’une évaluation critique de la Philosophie pour enfants (PPE). La question de la recherche peut être formulée ainsi : « Comment la Philosophie pour enfants peut-elle aider à répondre aux aspirations non satisfaites qu’une majorité de citoyens ressentent à l’égard du système politique actuel ? » Afin de répondre à cette question, nous évaluons la valeur et le potentiel démocratique de la PPE à travers une théorie sociale et politique radicale. Nous nous éloignons des philosophies politiques plus « traditionnelles » pour nous intéresser au programme politique de « démocratie expérimentale » développé par Roberto Unger pour montrer comment il peut offrir un moyen d'envisager la PPE comme un moyen de perturber la simple reproduction de la structure sociale et de la rapprocher d'une activité qui le transforme à travers l'expérimentation et l'engagement collectif. Pour ce faire, nous argumentons que les pratiques et les fondements théoriques de la PPE peuvent être considérés comme compatibles avec une telle vision démocratique. Nous soutenons néanmoins que son potentiel démocratique est limité par le manque de l’aspect pratique ainsi que par l'absence de soutien institutionnel capable de permettre l'expérimentation et la collaboration collective. / Recently in Quebec, a majority of eligible voters have expressed their discontent with the current political system. Citizens say they experience disempowerment and feel a lack of real choice in the political process. In the age of rising populism, this represents a pressing concern to ensure the vitality of our democracy. The purpose of this thesis is to engage with the issue of civic engagement and social reform from the standpoint of Philosophy for children (P4C). The research question can be formulated as such: “How can P4C contribute to an effective response towards the unsatisfied aspirations that a majority of citizens feel toward the current political system?” In order to answer this question, we assess P4C’s democratic value and democratic potential through a radical social and political theory. We depart from more “traditional” political philosophies and direct our attention to Democratic Experimentalism developed by Roberto Unger to show how it can offer a way to envisage P4C as a means to disrupt the mere reproduction of the structure of society and bring it closer to an activity that transforms it through experimentation and collective engagement. To do so, we examine how P4C’s practices and theoretical underpinnings can be said to be compatible with such a vision of democratic life and how nonetheless its democratic potential is limited by the lack of practicality and the absence of institutional support capable of enabling experimentation and collective engagement.

This study provides a critical interrogation of the perceptions held by the undergraduate Philosophy of Education students at an open and distance learning institution, towards African philosophy. The study is premised on famed Kenyan philosopher, Odera Henry Oruka‟s classification of African philosophy into four trends: ethno-philosophy, philosophic sagacity, nationalist-ideological philosophy and professional philosophy. These trends confirm that African philosophy is more than traditions, culture or ubuntu, and more complex than the students make it to be. The study makes a link between the students‟ flawed perceptions of African philosophy with their lack of critical thinking skills. The study has attempted to answer questions such as why students have flawed perceptions of African philosophy; how critical thinking assists in changing their perceptions of African philosophy, and what role can the education system play in equipping students with critical thinking skills. The study‟s findings show that undergraduate Philosophy of Education students conflate African philosophy with African people‟s traditions and cultures, and with ubuntu. Students perceive that African philosophy lacks reason and rationality - key elements of critical thinking. The study‟s findings show that students lack critical thinking skills. The study notes that the way students are taught makes a large contribution to their perceptions and lack of critical thinking skills. The study makes the following recommendations. Firstly, to deal with the problem of students‟ conflations, the study recommends the introduction of the principles of African philosophy, namely, ubuntu, communalism and indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in the school curriculum, and to emphasise these principles in the curricula of higher education institutions. Secondly, the study recommends the introduction of philosophy for children (P4C) in schools. It is envisaged that P4C will assist learners to acquire critical thinking skills at an early stage of learning. Thirdly, the study recommends the teaching of critical thinking skills at universities. Finally, the study recommends that in- service training be made an integral part of teachers‟ and lecturers‟ professional training, to bring them up-to-date with new ideas and methods of teaching. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

This dissertation offers a philosophical analysis of the ecological crisis through the lens of Hannah Arendt. It frames the ecological crisis as a struggle for situated cohabitation. By analyzing the work of Arendt, this dissertation shows the ways in which the ecological crisis is entwined with the political crisis of plurality. I suggest that these two issues are interconnected and that we need to address both for situated cohabitation. This dissertation is an interdisciplinary work, drawing from environmental philosophy, feminist philosophy, and educational practice. The work is intended to provide novel insight into the current ecological crisis in three ways. First, it grounds its theory in the work of Arendt, a thinker not usually situated in the prevue of environmental scholarship. Second, by synthesizing Arendt's account of plurality with the work of Judith Butler and Ricardo Rozzi, this dissertation explores a politics of plurality that can take account of social and ecological conditions of plurality. Third and finally, the dissertation merges theory with praxis by offering a practical program for doing environmental philosophy with children, a program derived from my sustained experiences working as a facilitator of a philosophy for children (P4C) program. This dissertation does not seek just a theoretical understanding of the ecological crisis, but also a practice of situated cohabitation in the crisis.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie har varit att utveckla kunskaper om hur filosofiska frågor i det naturvetenskapliga klassrummet påverkar elevers kommunikativa förmåga att argumentera och ta ställning. Frågeställningarna som använts för att möjliggöra studien är: På vilka sätt argumenterar elever i mötet med filosofiska frågor av naturvetenskaplig karaktär? Hur kan filosofiska frågor användas som resurs i det naturvetenskapliga klassrummet för att gynna elevers kommunikativa förmåga att argumentera och ta ställning inom naturvetenskap? Studien genomfördes vid en skola i norra Sverige och bestod av 13 deltagare från årskurserna 3-6 som deltog vid fyra undervisningstillfällen. Undervisningstillfällena bestod av utredning av filosofiska frågor med naturvetenskaplig karaktär i samtalsgrupper där en filosofisk samtalsstruktur följdes. Tillfällena observerades och data samlades in med hjälp av video– och ljudinspelning samt loggboksanteckningar. Resultatet visade att eleverna argumenterade utifrån följande kategorier i mötet med lektionsinnehållet: Nyttoargument, etiska argument, estetiska argument, hållbarhetsargument och relevansargument. Vidare visade studiens resultat att faktorer som struktur, lärarstöd, elevstöd och metaforer var viktiga för eleverna i mötet med filosofiska frågor av naturvetenskaplig karaktär. Sammanfattningsvis visade denna studie att elevernas argumentationer och ställningstagande kan påverkas i positiv bemärkelse vid arbete med filosofiska frågor av naturvetenskaplig karaktär. / The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop knowledge about how philosophical questions in the science classroom affects students' communicative ability to argue and to take positioning in a dilemma. The issues this study used to enable the study was: In what ways do students argue in the encounter with philosophical questions of a scientific nature? How can philosophical questions be used as a resource in the science classroom to benefit students' communicative ability to argue and take positioning in science? The study was implemented at a school in northern Sweden and consisted of 13 participants from the grades 3-6 who participated in four teaching opportunities. The teaching opportunities consisted of a philosophical inquiry of science questions in conversation groups where a philosophical conversation structure was followed. The teaching opportunities were observed and data was collected with the aid of video– and sound recording and logbook notes. Results show that students argued from the following categories: Utility argument, ethical arguments, aesthetic arguments, sustain arguments and relevance arguments. The result further showed that factors like: structure, teacher support, student support and metaphors were of importance to the students in their meeting with philosophical questions of a scientific nature. In summary, this study showed that students' arguments and positioning can be affected in positive meaning by using philosophical questions with scientific nature.

Orientadora: Profa. Dra. Patrícia Del Nero Velasco / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC, Programa De Pós-Graduação em Ensino, História, Filosofia das Ciências e Matemática, 2015. / Há mais de três décadas, o Programa Filosofia para Crianças - Educação para o Pensar (PFpC), de Matthew Lipman, é uma das tentativas mais significantes de aproximação entre Filosofia e criança. Fazendo uso de uma consistente fundamentação teórica, por meio de novelas que abordam temas propriamente filosóficos, a proposta de Lipman atenta para o desenvolvimento de uma série de habilidades de pensamento, as quais, segundo o autor, são imprescindíveis ao pretendido pensar de ordem superior. No presente trabalho, não trazemos por intento o desejo de levantar reflexões acerca da possibilidade ou pertinência do trabalho de Filosofia com crianças, tarefa que outros pesquisadores já realizaram a exaustão. Inquieta-nos o valor formativo da Filosofia e, nesse sentido, os objetivos da disciplina Filosofia na Educação Básica. Dessa forma, são analisados os documentos que orientam nacionalmente a Filosofia no Ensino Médio, quais sejam: os Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais para o Ensino Médio, as Orientações Educacionais Complementares aos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais e as Orientações Curriculares para o Ensino Médio. Procura-se selecionar, nos dispositivos legais supramencionados, os objetivos pretendidos para a Filosofia no nível médio de ensino e, especificamente, o leque de habilidades almejadas do egresso da etapa terminal da Educação Básica. A presente pesquisa pretende defender que as características formativas e habilidades cognitivas almejadas para disciplina Filosofia no Ensino Médio de algum modo estão contempladas no programa lipmaniano voltado ao Ensino Fundamental. / Three decades ago the program Philosophy for Children - Education for Thinking by Matthew Lipman is by far a significant attempt to bring together Philosophy and Children. Sustained by a consisted theory basis and through novels, that address mainly philosophical themes, Lipman¿s propose tries to develop a range of thinking abilities, grouped in investigation ability, reasoning, concept formation and translation. According to the author, those are essential to the desired higher thinking order. In this paper, we don¿t bring intentionally the desire of bring up reflections about the possibilities or relevance of Philosophy for children. A task that other researchers have pledged to perform exhaustively. The formative value of Philosophy and the objectiveness of Philosophy in Basic Education disturbs us. Therefore the documents nationally orients philosophy in high school are analyzed such as, the National Curriculum Guidelines for Secondary Education the Educational Guidelines Complementary to the National Curriculum Standards and Curriculum Guidelines for Secondary Education. The Proposed Curriculum of the State of São Paulo for the discipline in question is read critically. We try to select, in the abovementioned legal provisions, the intended goals for Philosophy in a high level of education and, specifically, the range of required skills of graduates of the ending stages of basic education. This research aims to defend the formative characteristics (and cognitive skills) stated in the above-mentioned legislation for the discipline Philosophy in high school. Those characteristics are somehow covered in Lipman¿s program aimed at an elementary school.

In this thesis it is argued that the fundamental goal of education is one of equipping students to think well, that is, to make decisions on the basis of arguments that are both logically cogent and ethically grounded. Moreover, the concern of the thesis is the role social and environmental education might play in fostering both the capability and the readiness to engage widely in such thinking. Drawing on relevant philosophical and psychological theory the study describes the development of an educational programme grounded in the procedures of ethical inquiry and taught via whole-class community of inquiry style discussions. The programme was trialled by way of a large scale, matched intervention study in South Australian upper primary classrooms. The findings from the research project indicate that participation in the programme produced significant gains in participants' logical and ethical reasoning and also that the programme fits within the constraints of prevailing educational structures.

In this thesis it is argued that the fundamental goal of education is one of equipping students to think well, that is, to make decisions on the basis of arguments that are both logically cogent and ethically grounded. Moreover, the concern of the thesis is the role social and environmental education might play in fostering both the capability and the readiness to engage widely in such thinking. Drawing on relevant philosophical and psychological theory the study describes the development of an educational programme grounded in the procedures of ethical inquiry and taught via whole-class community of inquiry style discussions. The programme was trialled by way of a large scale, matched intervention study in South Australian upper primary classrooms. The findings from the research project indicate that participation in the programme produced significant gains in participants' logical and ethical reasoning and also that the programme fits within the constraints of prevailing educational structures.

This thesis devotes to programs of ethics education for older school age in Czech Republic. The first part characterizes ethics education and its historical issue including specification basic ethics terms. This part describes ethics education and its place in basic education. In the end of first part is defined development of older school age and moral development. The second part characterizes three programs of ethics education for older school age in Czech Republic, which are used in formal education. These programs are Ethics education, Philosophy for children and Ethics workshop. Each from programs has specific conception. Finally of this part is adduced briefly comparisons of these programs.