Peter Paul Elicor

In this article, I propose to integrate indigenous knowledges in the Philosophy for/with Children theory and practice. I make the claim that it is possible to treat indigenous knowledges, not only as topics for philosophical dialogues with children but as presuppositions of the philosophical activity itself within the Community of Inquiry. Such integration is important for at least three (3) reasons: First, recognizing indigenous ways of thinking and seeing the world informs us of other non-dominant forms of knowledges, methods to produce knowledge and criteria to determine knowledge. Second, the dominance of western standards of producing and determining knowledge, especially in non-western societies, needs to be reduced, balanced and informed by local knowledges and experiences. And third, indigenous knowledges reinforce a culturally responsive P4wC that responds to the challenges arising in multicultural and ethnically diverse classrooms. There are two (2) possible intersections where such integration may take place, namely: a) Epistemology, where I claim that the integration of a “presentational epistemology” immanent in indigenous patterns of thinking provides a counterweight to Lipman’s strong adherence to analytic-representational epistemology, and b) Pedagogy, which takes shape in an “indigenized” Community of Inquiry that highlights the values of interconnectedness, situatedness and relationality.

This article aims to map the locations of identity prejudice that occurs in the context of a Community of Inquiry. My claim is that epistemic injustice, which usually originates from seemingly ‘minor’ cases of identity prejudice, can potentially leak into the actual practice of P4wC. Drawing from Fricker, the various forms of epistemic injustice are made explicit when epistemic practices are framed within concrete social circumstances where power, privilege and authority intersect, which is observable in school settings. In connection, despite the pedagogical improvements P4wC offers, some forms of identity prejudice prevalent in traditional classrooms may persist, affecting children who are identified with negatively stereotyped social groups. It is, therefore, important to pay attention to the reality of epistemic injustice and the possible locations where it may potentially surface in the COI. Drawing from my P4wC experience, I show that identity prejudice stems from the intersections of the roles and positionalities of the participants in a philosophical dialogue. These intersections point towards the epistemic relationships of the P4wC teacher, the students, and the P4wC program itself. I conclude that identity prejudice arises circumstantially and/or substantively in P4wC scholarship and practice.

In this paper, I offer a preliminary sketch of a culture-enabling Philosophy for/with Children practice. It is an approach to engaging philosophically with children that aims to encourage the exercise of critical reflection at the level of their respective cultures. This kind of P4wC practice hopes to address the challenges in facilitating philosophical dialogues with culturally/ethnically-diverse groups, especially when prejudice and negative stereotypes towards cultural/ethnic minorities are prevalent. Its focus is on helping children become cognizant of their cultural situatedness and its impact on their thinking and attitude towards dialogue. Underlying this practice is the assumption that Philosophy is fundamentally a worldview and a method that is embedded in the culture where it is created, validated, and used. Such a manner of doing philosophy recognizes that children are active bearers of culture and are entitled to educational opportunities, like P4wC, that can empower them to think for themselves and with others while staying grounded on their cultural backgrounds. Thus, the Community of Inquiry functions as a caring space where intercultural understanding and critical affirmation of cultures are fostered and sustained. In connection, I suggest that a culture-enabling P4wC teacher should have three desired traits: a) openness to various cultural resources and frames, b) a sense of critical positionality, and c) partiality to the culturally marginalized.