Community of Inquiry as Pedagogy of Doing Philosophy for Children: Adding the African Dimension

ABSTRACT

To what extent are contemporary classrooms communities and what is the place of the learner and the teacher in this set-up? This article offers a critical exploration of the notion of a community of inquiry in the context of Lipman's Philosophy for Children (P4C). We debate the place of the community of inquiry characterised by a lack of indoctrination, reciprocity of respect and a willingness to reason as pedagogy and an essential ingredient of doing P4C in contemporary classroom practices by using the conception of community from an African perspective. We argue that the ukama (relationality) ethic can add a new dimension to a novel understanding of the community of inquiry as a pedagogical framework for doing P4C in the 21st century.

Keywords:

• critical thinking
• philosophising
• mutuality
• individuality
• community
• childhood
• ukama ethic