Philosophy in schools

This project aims to increase and support the role of philosophy in nursery, primary and secondary education by disseminating philosophy skills and materials to teachers. The Department has offered a series of free practical workshops and conferences at St Andrews. The conferences were funded by the Royal Institute of Philosophy, the Scots Philosophical Association and the University, and have featured internationally renowned experts on philosophy for children, including Claire Cassidy, Joanna Haynes, Sara Stanley, Thomas Wartenberg and Peter Worley.

The Department, in cooperation with the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, has produced free online teaching resources. This is a suite of lesson plans and activities aimed at primary schools which enable teachers to introduce ideas from the philosophy of mind and empirical psychology, focussed on recent research on animal minds. The resources are linked to the Scottish National Curriculum and intended to develop scientific and critical thinking skills, as well as skills in philosophical reflection and reasoning. The materials include background information for teachers, videos and interactive activities. They are aimed at children aged 10 to 12, but many are also appropriate for older or younger audiences. The resources were funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and were developed with the support of teachers and pupils at Thornton Primary School and other Fife schools.

The project has also produced a book, Philosophy for Young Children: A Practical Guide, for teachers of children between the ages of 3 and 10. The book contains 36 philosophical enquiries and an introduction that explains how to use them. It employs a distinctive method of conducting enquiries aimed at imparting critical and creative thinking skills.