Conference Program

This contribution presents and discusses a Philosophy for Children (P4C) project implemented in a primary school within a comprehensive institute in Rome. The project is designed as an innovative and inclusive pedagogical practice aimed at fostering democratic schooling through dialogical inquiry, critical thinking, and participatory learning processes. In a contemporary educational context increasingly shaped by standardization and homogenizing curricular models, the teaching of philosophy is conceived as a form of pedagogical resistance, capable of preserving plurality, subjectivity, and critical reflection within schooling.

Grounded in the theoretical framework of Philosophy for Children, as developed by Matthew Lipman and later expanded by international scholarship, the project is carried out over one academic year with students aged 8–10. Philosophical inquiry sessions are integrated into the regular curriculum and structured around the Community of Inquiry model. Through shared reading of philosophical stimuli, collective question generation, and dialogical discussion, pupils are encouraged to express their viewpoints, listen to others, justify their reasoning, and collaboratively construct meaning. This process supports inclusive participation by valuing diverse cognitive styles, linguistic repertoires, and lived experiences, thus challenging normative and deficit-based conceptions of learning.

The project explicitly addresses the democratic and inclusive dimension of schooling by positioning students as active participants in knowledge construction. Classroom dialogue functions as a micro-democratic space in which rules of discussion are co-constructed, authority is shared, and differences are recognized as epistemic resources. In this sense, philosophical inquiry counters the logic of standardization by resisting the reduction of students to measurable performances and instead affirming their voices as singular, relational, and socially situated.

Curriculum teachers work alongside trained P4C experts, who co-facilitate inquiry sessions, model philosophical dialogue, and support teachers in adopting a facilitative rather than transmissive role. This collaborative approach contributes to the creation of an inclusive learning environment in which all students, including those at risk of marginalization, can participate meaningfully. By fostering critical questioning and reflexivity, P4C offers children conceptual tools to recognize and challenge stereotypes, implicit biases, and taken-for-granted assumptions that often underpin processes of exclusion, oppression, and discrimination.

Qualitative data are collected through classroom observations, students’ reflective journals, audio recordings of discussions, and teachers’ field notes. The analysis highlights developments in students’ argumentative skills, dialogical dispositions, and openness to plural perspectives. Moreover, the P4C approach contributes to reshaping classroom relationships, promoting mutual respect, cooperation, and a stronger sense of belonging within the learning community.

This paper argues that Philosophy for Children represents a powerful pedagogical innovation capable of strengthening democratic and inclusive practices in primary education. By embedding philosophical inquiry into everyday school life and by proposing the project on a yearly basis, the initiative demonstrates how democratic schooling can be cultivated from an early age, not merely as a curricular topic but as a lived educational experience. The contribution concludes by reflecting on the implications for teacher education and on the sustainability of P4C practices within comprehensive school systems committed to resisting standardization and promoting social justice through education.