​The purpose of this book is to develop a theory and practice of education from Karl Popper’s non-justificationist philosophy for promoting an open society. Specifically, the book is designed to develop an educational programme for fostering critical thinking in children, particularly when they are involved in group discussion.The study conducted an experiment to assess the effectiveness of Matthew Lipman’s Philosophy for Children (P4C) programme in promoting Hong Long (Chinese) children’s critical thinking. Forty-two Secondary 1 students volunteered for the experiment, from whom 28 students were randomly selected and randomly assigned to two groups of 14 each: one receiving P4C lessons and the other receiving English lessons. The students who were taught P4C were found to perform better in the reasoning test than those who were not, to be capable of discussing philosophical problems in a competent way, and to have a very positive attitude towards doing philosophy in the classroom. It was also found that P4C played a major role in developing the students’ critical thinking.Considering that the construction of children by adults as incompetent in the sense of lacking reason, maturity, or independence reinforces the traditional structure of adult authority over children in society, it runs counter to the goal of fostering critical thinking in children. As a way to return justice to childhood and to effectively promote critical thinking in children, the present study suggested reconstructing the concept of childhood, highlighting the importance of establishing a coherent public policy on promotion of agency in children and also the importance of empowering them to participate actively in research, legal, and educational institutions.

This book contributes to the theory and practice of Philosophy for Children (P4C), with a special emphasis on theoretical and practical issues confronting researchers and practitioners working in contexts that are strongly influenced by Confucian values and norms. It includes writings by prominent P4C scholars from four Confucian societies, viz., Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. These writings showcase the diversity of the P4C model, providing a platform for researchers and practitioners to tell their stories in their own Confucian cultural contexts. The research stories in the first part of the book are concerned with assessing the impact of traditional Confucian norms, promoting critical thinking, reconstructing the notion of community of inquiry, creating moral winds, integrating philosophy into the school curriculum, and localizing teaching methods and materials. Four issues are discussed in the second part of the book: the tension between Confucianism and powerful thinking; cultural challenges for practitioners; the transformation of harmony; and the conception of family. Taken as a whole, the book provides fresh insights into whether and how P4C’s Westerninfluenced theories and practices are compromised when they are applied in non-Western, or rather Confucian, contexts. A must-read for anyone interested in the theory and practice of P4C and Confucianism in general.

This dissertation, "Engaging Children in Doing Philosophy to Promote an Open Society" by 林志明, Chi-ming, Lam, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Karl Popper developed a falsificationist epistemology in which knowledge grows through falsifying, or criticizing, our theories. Since criticism plays such a vital role in Popper's falsificationist methodology, it seems natural to envisage his heuristic as a helpful resource for developing critical thinking. However, there is much controversy in the literature over the feasibility and utility of his falsificationism as a heuristic. This study argued that Popper's falsificationism is justified on the grounds that it not only solves, theoretically, the problem of the bounds of reason in the form of comprehensively critical rationalism, but influences, practically, the research work of scientists from diverse fields. It also found that there is cause for cautious optimism about the effectiveness of falsification as a strategy for solving scientific problems. Popper's falsificationist epistemology carries profound political and educational implications. On a political level, it is necessary to establish and maintain an open society by fostering five core values, viz. freedom, tolerance, respect, rationalism, and equalitarianism, as well as three crucial practices, viz. democracy, state interventionism, and piecemeal social engineering. On an educational level, the overriding aim is to nurture in children the requisite abilities, skills, and dispositions characteristic of critical thinking for full participation in an open democratic society. In order to achieve Popper's educational ideal, this study proposed implementing Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children (commonly known as P4C) programme in schools, arguing that the programme can fulfil the requirements of Popper's educational ideal through using community of inquiry as methodology of teaching, philosophy as subject matter for inquiry, logic as both means and ends of inquiry, and Socrates as a model teacher for inquiry. The present study then conducted an experiment to assess the effectiveness of Lipman's P4C programme in promoting Hong Kong children's critical thinking. Forty-two Secondary 1 students volunteered for the experiment, from whom 28 students were randomly selected and randomly assigned to two groups of 14 each: one receiving P4C lessons and the other receiving English lessons. The students who were taught P4C were found to perform better in the reasoning test than those who were not, to be capable of discussing philosophical problems in a competent way, and to have a very positive attitude towards doing philosophy in the classroom. It was also found that P4C played a major role in developing the students' critical thinking. Considering that the construction of children by adults as incompetent in the sense of lacking reason, maturity, or independence reinforces the traditional structure of adult authority over children in society, it runs counter to the goal of fostering critical thinking in children. As a way to return justice to childhood and to effectively promote critical thinking in children, the present study suggested reconstructing the concept of childhood, highlighting the importance of establishing a coherent public policy on promotion of agency in children and also the importance of empowering them to participate actively in research, legal, and educational institutions. DOI: 10.5353/th_b4555177 Subjects: Philosophy - Study and teaching - China - Hong Kong Critical thinking in children -

Childhood looms large in our understanding of human life, as a phase through which all adults have passed. Childhood is foundational to the development of selfhood, the formation of interests, values and skills and to the lifespan as a whole. Understanding what it is like to be a child, and what differences childhood makes, are thus essential for any broader understanding of the human condition. The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Childhood and Children is an outstanding reference source for the key topics, problems and debates in this crucial and exciting field and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising over thirty chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into five parts: · Being a child · Childhood and moral status · Parents and children · Children in society · Children and the state. Questions covered include: What is a child? Is childhood a uniquely valuable state, and if so why? Can we generalize about the goods of childhood? What rights do children have, and are they different from adults’ rights? What (if anything) gives people a right to parent? What role, if any, ought biology to play in determining who has the right to parent a particular child? What kind of rights can parents legitimately exercise over their children? What roles do relationships with siblings and friends play in the shaping of childhoods? How should we think about sexuality and disability in childhood, and about racialised children? How should society manage the education of children? How are children’s lives affected by being taken into social care? The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Childhood and Children is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of childhood, political philosophy and ethics as well as those in related disciplines such as education, psychology, sociology, social policy, law, social work, youth work, neuroscience and anthropology.

This book demonstrates the value of approaching education from a sociological and philosophical perspective. Specifically, it addresses current and long-standing educational issues in the Asia-Pacific region, integrating sociological and philosophical insights with practical applications in four key areas: educational aims, moral education, educational policy, and the East-West dichotomy. It discusses educational aims in terms of rationality, philosophical thinking, and sustainable development and presents the literary, religious, and analytical approaches to moral education. Four educational policies are then considered: Hong Kong’s language policy, Hong Kong’s policy on the internationalization of education, East Asia’s policies on English education, and Australia’s policy on teacher education. Different aspects of the East-West dichotomy are analysed: Confucian rationalism versus Western rationalism, Confucian learning culture versus Western learning culture, and Asian research methodology versus Western research methodology. Taken as a whole, the book shows that issues in education are rarely simple, and looking at them from multiple perspectives allows for rich and informed debates. It presents a rare philosophical and sociological analysis of the cultures and experiences of education in the Asia-Pacific region, and promotes research that leads to more culturally rooted educational policies and practice.