Philosophy in Schools Readings

Ben Kilby - Why Teachers' Beliefs & Values are Important in P4C Research: A Victorian Perspective

This paper argues that there is a gap in current research in Philosophy for Children (P4C) that focusses on teachers’ perspectives, and particularly in relation to their beliefs and values. The paper looks briefly at what P4C is and its current status in the Victorian education system in Australia. It then moves to exploring how teachers’ perspectives, through analyses of their beliefs and values, adds significant value in education. This paper also explores the importance of teachers’ beliefs and values specifically in the context of P4C. It then concludes by analysing some recent P4C research which has begun to explore teachers’ perspectives, before finishing with future research directions that build on these previous studies which will lay important groundwork for extending the reach of P4C into education systems.