Philosophy for Children (P4C), it is important to understand, is practiced all over the world. The mainland United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Kenya, China, Austria, Korea, England....those are just a few of the countries where P4C is practiced which jump into my mind. But there are dozens more. p4cHI is, without a doubt, a proud child of Matthew Lipman's nearly 5 decades old P4C. But, like a child who has moved far away and made her own life, p4cHI looks and acts a little bit different from P4C. Continue reading

In this video you will see the students make a community ball. This is a common way for a p4cHI group to start the year. It is a way both to build community and to create an important tool for the governance of the group.   Continue reading

Oftentimes, like estranged siblings, theory and practice don't travel together.  Sometimes, like when we're in a rush to apply some great new "best practice," theory gets left behind.  (Why, we ask, are we doing this?)  At other times, perhaps when we're listening to some scholar, Practice never even gets into the van.  (How, we wonder, is this relevant?)   Continue reading

Drawing from his many years of experience, p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson (Dr. J) shares some of his most memorable moments and significant realizations. These stories provide us with a vibrant and oftentimes inspirational perspective on where p4cHI has come from, what it is, and, indeed, on what it could be. In this story Dr. J tells us about the time that he explored a deep and complex topic -- What's real? -- with a Kindergarten class. He was delighted and amazed as the inquiry wound down an unexpected path.   Continue reading

Sometimes the "philosophy" in "philosophy for children" throws people off.  Perhaps thinking back to that one college philosophy class that they had to take, they wonder how philosophy can have anything to do with children. In order to understand the connection between the two we first have to get clear on what we mean by "philosophy."  p4cHI founder Dr. Thomas Jackson makes a distinction between "Big P Philosophy" and "little p philosophy."  "Big P Philosophy" is an academic discipline.  It involves studying famous philosophers like Plato and perhaps writing books or delivering lectures.  It is something that one most oftentimes runs into in college. Continue reading

This resource is part of Unit 1: An Overview of p4cHI in our Learning Modules. "You want to teach people how to do p4c," I was skeptically asked, "through an online class?"  "How are you going to do that...through videos?"  That, I thought, is an excellent idea.  So during the Spring of 2015 my Saturday afternoon p4cHI class and I got to work.  For nearly three months we met, filmed, and filmed some more.  The end product of this undertaking is what you will get to view in this course:  A 15 video "How to Do p4cHI" video series. Continue reading

This resource is part of Unit 1: An Overview of p4cHI in our Learning Modules. Hurtling through the Japanese country-side on a bullet train, some of my fellow philosophy for children Hawai‘i (p4cHI) practitioners and I continued an ongoing inquiry:  What does it mean to "do p4cHI"?  Confronted daily with Japanese teachers and administrators who, it oftentimes seemed, were looking for the formula to how to do p4cHI, this question was at the forefront of our minds. Continue reading

This resource is part of Unit 1: An Overview of p4cHI in our Learning Modules. In this recording Dr. J tells us about a p4cHI discussion that he witnessed at an Elementary School. Is there anyone in the world who doesn't have any friends? The young philosophers had some deep and perhaps surprising insights. Click here to listen to the recording.  

Authors Amber Strong Makaiau, Director of Curriculum and Research, University of Hawai‘i UehiroAcademy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education, University of Hawai‘i Manoa Benjamin Lukey, Associate Director, University of Hawai‘i Uehiro Academy for Philosophyand Ethics in Education, University of Hawai‘i, Manoa   Abstract The pedagogical approaches used in teacher education implicitly shape teachers’ “conceptual orientations towards teaching, learning, and learning to teach” (Grossman 2005, 429). This study explores what happens when the “philosopher’s pedagogy” is used to create a new professional development model in the K-12 setting. The participants are the two authors, university faculty who conduct a self-study as they collaborate with students, teachers, and administrators in the Hawai‘i State public school system to design and implement this new professional development model. Data includes transcripts of the participants planning meetings, electronic communication, workplace documents and personal memos. A constructivist approach to grounded theory methods is used to analyze the data. The findings are described in two parts. First, the three analytic themes that emerged from the analysis of the data illustrate how the philosopher’s pedagogy helped the authors: ground the professional development model in their own experiences, find their focus, and view philosophy as the general theory of education reform. Second, each component of the three-part professional development model that emerged from this study’s findings are explained. These three parts are: (1) an educative experience, (2) mentoring and coaching from a philosopher in residence, and (3) a meaningful peer/professional community of inquiry. At the study’s conclusion, this three-part professional development model is offered as a viable alternative to traditional and usual education reform efforts. In addition, the need for future longitudinal research to examine the continued implementation and longstanding impact of the philosopher’s pedagogy threepart professional development model is suggested. Continue reading