Philosophy in Education

Questioning and Dialogue in Schools

By (author) Jana Mohr Lone, Michael D. Burroughs

Not available to order

Publication date:

11 February 2016

Length of book:

240 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442234796

Philosophy in Education: Questioning and Dialog in K-12 Classrooms is a textbook in the fields of pre-college philosophy and philosophy of education, intended for philosophers and philosophy students, K-12 classroom teachers, administrators and educators, policymakers, and pre-college practitioners of all kinds. The book offers a wealth of practical resources for use in elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms, as well as consideration of many of the broader educational, social, and political topics in the field, including the educational value of pre-college philosophy, the philosophies of education that inform this philosophical practice, and the relevance of pre-college philosophy for pressing issues in contemporary education (such as education reform, child development, and prejudice and privilege in classrooms). The book includes sections on: the expansion of philosophy beyond higher education to pre-college populations; the importance of wondering, questioning and reflection in K-12 education; the ways that philosophy is uniquely suited to help students cultivate critical reasoning and independent thinking capacities; how to develop classroom communities of philosophical inquiry and their potentially transformative impact on students; the cultivation of philosophical sensitivity and positive identity formation in childhood; strategies for recognizing and diminishing the impact of social inequalities in classrooms; and the relationship between introducing philosophy in schools and education reform.
Jana Mohr Lone and Michael Burroughs have given us a profoundly thoughtful book about the ways that children can participate in dialogue and critical reflection at a level that transcends the pro formá mandates of most standardized curricula. Beginning in the early elementary grades and continuing through the secondary years, they provide us and our teachers with a smorgasbord of practical and ingeniously inventive avenues into a realm of inquiry that opens up essential questions about justice, ethics, and equality.