Social Studies for Democracy: Cultivating Communities of Inquiry for Filipino Students as Deliberative Citizens

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the problematic state of Philippine democracy that has long been attributed to the nation’s history of colonial rule, widespread poverty and inequality, oligarchic structures, and dysfunctional institutions. It focuses on the role of education and Social Studies Education, specifically, in cultivating in Filipino citizens skills and attitudes necessary for active participation in deliberative democracy. Drawing from Dewey’s philosophy of progressivist and democratic education, Peirce’s notion of community of inquiry, as well as Lipman’s Philosophy for/with Children, it sketches how Social Studies situated in classroom communities of inquiry will help develop communitarian dispositions and inquiry skills that are indispensable in a healthy and vibrant democracy. While it is recognized that there are numerous other pedagogies that aim at similar purposes, it is argued that the community of inquiry enables a unique and robust learning process that allows students to think reflectively, explore various contexts and experiences, question their assumptions, identify their prejudices, and make their own conclusions through deliberative, intersubjective dialogue.