Abstract
The Journal of Philosophy in Schools ISSN 2204-2482 focusses on research into philosophy with school-aged children. What was once called Philosophy for/with Children (P4C) has developed into a sub-discipline of philosophy with its own history, traditions and pedagogy incorporating philosophical inquiry in the classroom and Socratic dialogue, particularly through the Community of Inquiry (CoI) methodology.The JPS welcomes submissions which interrogate theoretical and conceptual understandings as well as those which draw on original empirical research on the pedagogy and practice of philosophy in schools. The journal also reviews new books and new teacher resources in the field. The aim of the journal is to encourage academic reflection and research on philosophy in schools, making such information widely available through an open-access format.The Journal of Philosophy in Schools (JPS) is listed in the DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals. It is the official journal of The Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Associations (FAPSA).
Highlights
Central to an adequate conception of moral education is an activity we might call moral inquiry, by which I mean inquiry with children and young people into the justification for subscribing to moral standards
This is by no means the whole of moral education: at least as important as moral inquiry is moral formation, by which I mean the cultivation in children and young people of the intentions, feelings and habits that constitute moral subscription
The sources of resistance I shall consider are: (i) the idea that imparting moral beliefs is indoctrinatory; (ii) the idea that questions discussed in the community of inquiry (CoI) must be open; and (iii) the idea that teachers in the CoI must be ‘philosophically self-effacing’ (Sharp 2017, p. 30)
Summary
Abstract Moral inquiry—inquiry with children and young people into the justification for subscribing to moral standards—is central to moral education and philosophical in character. The community of inquiry (CoI) method is an established and attractive approach to teaching philosophy in schools. There is, a problem with using the CoI method to engage pupils in moral inquiry: some moral standards should be taught directively, with the aim of bringing it about that pupils understand and accept the justification for subscribing to them; but directive moral teaching is widely thought to be impermissible in the CoI. In this article I identify, and push back against, three sources of resistance to directive teaching in the CoI literature: (i) the idea that imparting moral beliefs is indoctrinatory; (ii) the idea that questions discussed in the CoI must be open; and (iii) the idea that teachers in the CoI must be philosophically self-effacing. Key words Community of Inquiry, directive teaching, epistemic equality, indoctrination, moral inquiry, open questions, substantive neutrality
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