The Need for Philosophy in Promoting Democracy: A case for philosophy in the curriculum
Journal of Philosophy in Schools 5 (1):38-58 (2018)
Abstract
The studies by Trickey and Topping, which provide empirical support that philosophy produces cognitive gains and social benefits, have been used to advocate the view that philosophy deserves a place in the curriculum. Arguably, the existing curriculum, built around well-established core subjects, already provides what philosophy is said to do, and, therefore, there is no case to be made for expanding it to include philosophy. However, if we take citizenship education seriously, then the development of active and informed citizens requires an emphasis on citizen preparation, but significantly more than the existing curriculum can provide, namely, the acquisition of knowledge and skills to improve students’ social and intellectual capacities and dispositions as future citizens. To this end, I argue for a model of democratic education that emphasises philosophy functioning educationally, whereby students have an integral role to play in shaping democracy through engaging in philosophy as collaborative inquiry that integrates pedagogy, curriculum and assessment. I contend that only philosophy can promote democracy, insofar as philosophical inquiry is an exemplar of the kind of deliberative inquiry required for informed and active democratic citizenship. In this way, philosophy can make a fundamental and much needed contribution to education.Author's Profile
DOI
10.21913/jps.v5i1.1483
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Citations of this work
Offering Philosophy to Secondary School Students in Aotearoa New Zealand.Nicholas Parkin - 2022 - New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies 57 (1).
On the theoretical foundations of the ‘Philosophy for Children’ programme.Florian Franken Figueiredo - 2022 - Journal of Philosophy of Education 56 (2):210-226.
Disruptive philosophies: Eco-rational education and the epistemology of place .Simone Gralton Thornton - 2019 - Dissertation, The University of Queensland
Collaborative philosophical inquiry as peace pedagogy.Somayeh Khatibi Moghadam - 2019 - Dissertation, The University of Queensland
References found in this work
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Thinking in Education.Matthew Lipman - 1992 - British Journal of Educational Studies 40 (2):187-189.
Thinking in Education.Matthew Lipman - 2003 - British Journal of Educational Studies 51 (3):303-305.