APA
Committee on
Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy
Special Report to the
Committee
The following appeared in Volume 70,
Number 5 (May, 1997) of the Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical
Association.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN
PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN
Matthew Lipman, Montclair State
University
A 1991 report to the American Philosophy Association's
Pre-College Philosophy Committee noted the rapid spread of philosophy into the schools of
other countries. Cited among the reasons for this spread were: (1) Repeated international
showings of the BBC's educational documentary, Socrates for Six-Year-Olds; (2) the
sudden popularity of thinking as a major educational goal; and (3) recognition of
the need to prepare children to participate in democratic institutions and to engage in
thoughtful alternatives to violence. For much the same reasons, Philosophy for Children
(P4C) continues to grow:
Argentina: The Graduate Department of
the University of Buenos Aires has been the source of some twenty graduate students who
have set up two Philosophy for Children centers and are engaged in providing in-service
training in Philosophy for Children in a number of Buenos Aires schools.
Armenia: Armenia's Institute of
Argumentation has now sent three of its faculty to the New Jersey workshops for training
in establishing an Armenian center of Philosophy for Children.
Austria: The Austrian Association for
Philosophy for Children has been at work for the past 15 years conducting experiments,
training teachers, holding international conferences, and translating the curriculum into
German. The center is supported by the Austrian Ministry of Education and by the city of
Graz.
Brazil: The size of the Philosophy for
Children operation in Brazil can be seen from the fact that it now involves 100,000
children a year in studying philosophy. It also has a Master's program at the University
of Cuiaba. Brazil has been active in offering philosophy lessons to street children.
Bulgaria: Philosophy for Children began
in grades 3 and 4 in 1991 in Bulgaria, in 20 schools in Sofia, Varna, and other towns,
under the auspices of the Bulgarian Philosophical Association. With a successful
experiment, the Bulgarian Ministry of Education endorsed the P4C program. Now, in 1996,
the Peace Corps has made a sizable contribution to the project, making possible the
publication of four textbooks and the holding of an international workshop.
Canada: Except for individual centers in
British Columbia and New Brunswick, P4C activity has centered, for the past 20 years, in
Montréal and Québec City. Much of the IAPC curriculum has been translated and published
in French, and teacher education has been widespread in the Montréal area.
Chile: A number of Chilean schools have
had P4C since the 1970s, and the Chilean center in Santiago continues to develop teachers.
The Catholic University in Santiago has been the site of a number of P4C experiments.
China: The entire 14-volume P4C
curriculum has been translated into Chinese, and will be published by the end of 1996 by
the Shanxi Educational Press. Several visits by and to high-ranking Chinese educational
officials have been exchanged and the center of early adoptions is expected to be in and
around Kunming.
Costa Rica: Since its founding in 1989,
the Costa Rican Center for Philosophy for Children has been training teachers for a small
number of public schools, and has worked extensively with the British School. A number of
textbooks have also been translated.
Czech Republic: Despite financial
support from UNICEF and from the International Catholic Child Buureau, an international
workshop scheduled for the fall of 1996 has had to be postponed.
Finland: After first training a key
educator from the University of Oulu, the IAPC was host to several government officials
who made possible, the translation and publication of a good portion of the curriculum.
Teacher training in the Oulu area is also continuing.
France: In 1996, the IAPC concluded an
agreement with the International Catholic Child Bureau, making the latter the sole
representative of P4C in France. The ICCB will hold an international workshop for
professors in the fall of 1996.
Georgia: The Scientific Educational
Center in Tbilisi will send the first two Georgian representatives for training in New
Jersey in May 1997.
Germany: Verlag an der Ruhr, the German
publishers of Sophie's World, have requested the right to represent the IAPC in
Germany. Negotiations are continuing.
Great Britain: In England, P4C is
represented by SAPERE, a "Thinking Skills Network" that provides teacher
training upon request. In Scotland, an independent center has opened at the University of
Glasgow.
Guatemala: Work has concentrated in the
villages under the direction of two retired philosophy professors, one American, the other
Guatemalan. Their efforts have been associated with democratization initiatives.
Hungary: Thanks to a Soros grant, one
IAPC program has been translated and published, and teacher education workshops are being
held.
Iceland: The Iceland Center for
Philosophy for Children has been translating and publishing materials and training
teachers since the early 1980s. A world conference of the International Council for
Philosophical Inquiry with Children is scheduled to be held in Iceland in the summer of
1997.
Ireland: Having received a 1996 grant,
St. Patrick's College in Dublin will be offering a program to children in the Dublin area
this coming year.
Israel: Several IAPC-trained
philosophers and graduate students are at work translating materials and training
teachers.
Italy: There are two centers of P4C in
Italy engaged in teacher education. Translation and publication is proceeding with the
publisher, Armando Armando.
Latvia: A workshop for Latvian
professors, marking the start of dissemination efforts, took place in the summer of 1996.
It was conducted by an Australian Philosopher.
Lithuania: The first Lithuanian workshop
will be conducted in the fall of 1996 with the assistance of an already-trained Lithuanian
philosopher.
Malta: Much of the curriculum
development work comes from the University of Malta, and philosophy can be expected to
make considerable inroads, eventually, into Maltese schools.
Mexico: Except for Brazil, Mexico has
the most extensive set of P4C operations in Latin America. Among its centers are those in
Mexico City, Guadalajara, and San Cristobal. A doctoral program in Philosophy for Children
in now operating at IberoAmericana University in Mexico City.
Netherlands: The Netherlands Center is
located in the University of Amsterdam. Its activities have been focusing on third and
fourth graders.
Nigeria: In 1990, a 3-member IAPC team
of professors conducted a 10-day faculty training workshop at the Institute for Ecumenical
Education in Enugu. (The IEE trains some 6,000 teachers a year.) Since that time, P4C has
been playing a steadily enlarging role in IEE-centered education
Philippines: The center of
teacher-education in P4C is the University of the Philippines at Diliman. Several
workshops for the university faculty have been given, and teachers in the schools are
teaching the materials in their classes with support from UNICEF and the International
Catholic Child Bureau, which are also aiding in work with street children.
Poland: The main activity here stems
from Soros-supported democratization efforts applied to middle school and high school
students.
Portugal: There are two centers in
Portugal, both very active. All translation and publication is in the hands of the center
that is connected with the Portuguese Philosophical Society, as well as with the
University in Lisbon.
Republic of China: Interest in Taiwan
has been continuous since 1976, particularly in early elementary school philosophy.
Romania: Thanks to another Soros grant,
the early childhood curriculum of the IAPC has been translated into Romanian, and the
program is being presented in the schools in the early elementary grades.
Russia: While most of the workshops for
professors have taken place over the past five years in Moscow, the spread of the program
to the schools is centered in Siberia. The Russian Ministry of Education has now (1996)
announced that Philosophy for Children texts are acceptable in Russian elementary
education.
Singapore: Several workshops for
teacher-trainers have now been given in Singapore and more are scheduled for 1997.
South Africa: South Africa has sent a number of educators
here for training and they have been working with teachers ever since their return to
their country.
South Korea: The IAPC has now received
two one-year visits from South Korean philosophers eager to observe the program in
operation in New Jersey. A number of Master's students have also been here, and a center
has been established in Seoul.
Spain: Spain is heavily involved in
elementary school philosophy. There are affiliate centers in approximately ten cities, and
most IAPC publications are translated into Spanish and published promptly. The same is
true in Catalonia, where an independent center translates the curriculum promptly into
Catalan.
Sweden: While efforts at dissemination
have not been extensive in Sweden, the program is being exposed to careful experimentation
by philosophers at the University of Stockholm with gratifying results.
Turkey: A division of Philosophy for Children has been
established in the Philosophical Society of Turkey. This division has conducted a
pilot-project in a number of orphanages, and it is hoped that this teaching will be
gradually extended to orphanages all over Turkey.
Uruguay: A number of graduate students
have been trained in Argentina and have proceeded to work with the program in the
elementary schools in Uruguay.
Zimbabwe: A workshop has been conducted
in Harare for faculty of Zimbabwe's teacher education colleges, and several faculty
members have come to the United States to study here for Master's and Ph.D. degrees.
Note: The work of the Institute for the Advancement of
Philosophy for Children at Montclair State University, which is described above, is not
formally affiliated with the American Philosophical Association or with the Committee on
Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy.
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