Abstract

DONALD, Margaret Joan Mac  and  BOWEN, Warren. Foundations of democracy and sustainability: power, reality and dragons. child.philo [online]. 2015, vol.11, n.22, pp.265-282. ISSN 1984-5987.  https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2015.22115.

With the goal of better understanding how Engaged Philosophical Inquiry (EPI), can be used with young children (aged 4) on topics related to the environment and sustainability the following paper presents findings from a year long pilot project and a follow up study taking place within a childcare center and its surrounding forest environment. Using ethnographic research methods, we gathered, transcribed and analyzed digital video, photographic and audio recordings of our activities in answer to the question: How can Engaged Philosophical Inquiry be used with four-year-olds as a way to inquire about our environment and the concept of sustainability? This research was approached in partnership with the children using a model of democratic community building and a holistic pedagogy that yielded findings related to: 1) democratic community building processes; 2) the use of context to focus our discussions; 3) optimal group membership and group size; and 4) turn taking and the role of the moderator including effective framing of purpose, questioning, clarification and reiteration of the children’s ideas. We conclude that children at this age are able to engage in philosophical discussion with the assistance of a skilled moderator and opportunities to engage experientially in activities related to the discussion thread.

Keywords : Engaged Philosophical Inquiry; sustainability; Democratic Community.

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