Conference Program

This paper explores whether and how Philosophy for Children can function as a tool for the professional development of early childhood and primary school teachers through a structured training programme and the subsequent implementation of the approach in classroom practice. The study is framed within a pragmatist and dialogic conception of education (Barak, 2024; Biesta, 1995; Freire, 1970 Kazepides, 2012), according to which schooling is a space for shared inquiry and for the cultivation of democratic dispositions. Drawing on Dewey’s theory of experience and community (1902; 1938), on the Philosophy for Children tradition (Lipman, 1991; 2010), and on the notion of professional habitus as a system of embodied dispositions orienting practice (Feldman, 2016; Nairz-Wirth & Feldmann, 2019), the project assumes that introducing community of philosophical inquiry may generate transformations not only at the level of techniques, but in teachers’ epistemic and relational stance.

The research focuses on the following questions:

• Does participation in a structured Philosophy for Children training programme modify teachers’ conceptions of knowledge, learning and teaching?
• How does the implementation of regular philosophical inquiry sessions affect their professional posture, particularly in relation to dialogue and classroom authority?
• Are changes observable in questioning practices and in attention to the relational dimension of teaching?

Fourteen in-service teachers participated in the project: ten from primary schools (ages 6–11) and four from early childhood settings (ages 3–6). The training consisted of 25 hours combining theoretical input on the epistemological and pedagogical foundations of Philosophy for Children with experiential workshops based on the community of inquiry model. Teachers then implemented fortnightly community of philosophical inquiry sessions in their classes over a six-month period.

A qualitative, longitudinal design (Lichtman, 2010 Walford, 2001) was adopted. Data were collected through these tools:

• an initial written open-ended interview exploring beliefs about teaching, learning and dialogue;
• participant observation during selected training meetings and classroom sessions, documented through field notes;
• in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted at the end of the implementation phase.

Data were analysed through thematic coding (Braun & Clarke, 2022), integrating inductive procedures with analytic categories derived from the theoretical framework. Triangulation across sources (Ma & Norwich, 2007; Oliver-Hoyo & Allen, 2006) supported the credibility of interpretations.

Preliminary results indicate a shift from a predominantly instructional and outcome-oriented stance towards a more dialogic and inquiry-based posture. Teachers report greater awareness of the relational dimension of their role and of the ethical responsibility involved in facilitating dialogue. Observations confirm an increased use of open, generative questions, a reduction of evaluative interventions, and a broader distribution of speaking turns. Participants describe a progressive decentring of the teacher’s epistemic authority and a stronger focus on listening and on building on pupils’ contributions.

These findings suggest that sustained engagement with Philosophy for Children can affect teachers’ professional habitus, particularly in relation to questioning practices and relational attention. The study highlights the relevance of long-term, practice-based training in promoting pedagogical transformations aligned with democratic and dialogic aims, while acknowledging the exploratory nature and limited scale of the research.