From the Margins to the Center: The Transformative Promise of Philosophy for Children

What began as an innovative idea in the late 1960s—the recognition that even very young children are philosophically disposed—is no longer considered novel. While philosophy for children has transitioned from a fledgling initiative to a worldwide movement, it remains on the margins of education. In this article, we look back at key initiatives that have advanced its growth before looking ahead to what can move philosophy for children to the center of education. We consider the introduction and development of materials that invite children into philosophical spaces, the community of philosophical inquiry as a model of teachers' and children's philosophical practice, diverse models of teacher preparation, and multiple means of dissemination and collaboration. We conclude that the transformative promise of philosophy for children lies in three directions: to enrich children's lives through an iterative, sustained experience of awakening to philosophical meaning, driven by their philosophical questioning and inquiry and shared in dialogue with others; to reform education by preparing teachers to cultivate a philosophical orientation to their subjects, their students, and to education as a whole; and to continue the cross-fertilization of theoretical and empirical research among philosophy for children, education, and the humanities and social sciences. The growth of the movement and what we have learned from it make these ambitious promises reasonable to strive for.