Journals, Magazines and Books

Books

This is a new section with just a selection of all the materials available. Many of these books are available from the on line shop at the Australian Council for Educational Research (link).

A broad range of further resources is listed on the FAPSA website.

If you have any suggestions about useful Philosophy books for the classroom to be added to this section, please contact the Education Officer.

‘Discussions in Science’ by Tim Sprod Aimed at science teachers of children ages 10-14, this book contains 18 stories that can be used to initiate a community of inquiry, and extensive support material for teachers in running that community. Issues raised include concepts central to science, the philosophy and methodologies of science, ethical puzzles surrounding scientific research, and links between the lives of students and scientific matters. Published by ACER. For further information, download the flyer.

Thinking Stories 1- 3, ed. Phillip Cam – stories (by different authors) and teachers’ manuals, suitable for 10 -12 year olds. No 3, with stories all by the Phil Cam, is particularly good, and focuses on ethics and social philosophy. Published by Hale and Iremonger.

Philosophy with Kids 1- 3, by de Haan, MacColl and McCutcheon. Australian materials for 5 to 7 year olds. These offer discussion plans, exercises and games that promote philosophical inquiry, based on existing picture books. Lots of interesting ideas in these, and they were well tested in Australian classrooms. Published by Longman.

Creative and Critical Thinking – Strategies for Classroom Inquiry, by Susan Wilks. Good introduction to P4C, with a number of examples of small modules with different topics and for different ages, mostly for Primary level. Wilkes worked closely with a range of teachers to produce this book. Published by Eleanor Curtain.

Books into Ideas, by Tim Sprod. Suitable for work with 5 -7 year olds. Excellent discussion plans and exercises to support existing children’s picture books, a good introduction to Philosophy for Children and hints for setting up a community of inquiry in your classroom. Published by Hawker Brownlow Education

Thinking Together – Philosophical Inquiry for the Classroom, by Philip Cam. A very good book that describes both the point of and the practice of philosophy in the classroom and has some great exercises and techniques. Use in conjunction with materials listed above. Published by Hale and Iremonger.

Twenty Thinking Tools, Phillip Cam. ACER Press. Extremely useful support for facilitating inquiry.

Teaching for Better Thinking – the Classroom Community of Inquiry, by Laurance Splitter and Ann Sharp. The new classic on theory and practice of P4C. Available from ACER.

Storywise, Philosophy Club, Roger Sutcliffe, Steve Williams et al. Available from Dialogueworks in the UK. Web address: www.dialogueworks.co.uk .

Stories for ThinkingPoems for ThinkingGames for Thinking etc, by Robert Fisher. A collection of poems and traditional stories with activities, discussion plans etc to support philosophical inquiry. Published by Nash Pollock Publishing.

Connecting Concepts, by Clinton Golding. A very useful collection of exercises that make exploration of central concepts easy and fun. Can be used in secondary school or adapted for primary school. Published by ACER, also available from Learning Network.

Thinking About Journal Stories, by Anne Maree Olley. Excellent series of support materials for philosophical inquiry using NZ school journal stories. Also Thinking about Picture Books and Time to Think, Published by Essential Resources. Order on line: www.erpublishers.com

Philosophy with Young Children – a classroom handbook by Philip Cam, Liz Fynes-Clinton, Kathlyn Harrison, Lynne Hinton, Rosie Scholl & Simon Vaseo. Published by Australian Curriculum Studies Association. A wonderful book for doing philosophy with Year 1 and 2 students.


Journals and Magazines

Journal of Philosophy in Schools (JPS) is the official journal of The Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Associations (FAPSA). The focus of the journal is research into philosophy with school-aged children. The aim of the journal is to encourage academic reflection and research into the growing field of philosophy in schools with the intention of making such information widely available through the use of an open-access format. The journal welcomes submissions which interrogate theoretical and conceptual understandings as well as those which draw on original empirical research within the field.

The Journal of Philosophy in Schools has gone live online in 2018.

It may be accessed via: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/jps/

Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children, published by the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children, Montclair State University. This journal is a forum for the work of both theorists and practitioners of philosophical practice with children, and publishes such work in all forms, including philosophical argument and reflection, classroom transcripts, curricula, empirical research, and reports from the field. The journal also maintains a tradition in publishing articles in the hermeneutics of childhood, a field of intersecting disciplines including cultural studies, social history, philosophy, art, literature and psychoanalysis. Regrettably the IAPC will cease publication of the Journal after Volume 20 Number 4 (2011) and is no longer taking submissions for publication. Past issues and articles are still available.

Critical & Creative Thinking: The Australasian Journal of Philosophy in Education 1993 – 2009. Back issues are available by order, or via special permission to access them online on the website of the Federation of Australasian Philosophy in Schools Associations.

Questions: Philosophy for Young People is a unique forum for the philosophical questions – and answers – of young people and their teachers. Each topical issue contains philosophical discussions, drawings, philosophical writing by students in an easy to read newsletter format. The journal also publishes articles offering advice and ideas for teachers and parents interested in facilitating philosophical discussions with young people. Past issues have explored human rights with students in elementary, middle, and high schools, and have included transcripts of K-12 discussions about human rights perspectives. Other topics issues have explored children’s rights with teachers, students, and philosophers from the U.S., Brazil, and Israel. Questions is sponsored by the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy, the Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children, and the Philosophy Documentation Center.

Teaching Philosophy (ed. Patrick Boleyn-Fitzgerald) is the only journal devoted exclusively to the practical and theoretical discussion of teaching and learning philosophy. Since 1975 it has provided a peer-reviewed forum for the exchange of ideas about the challenges faced by philosophers in the classroom, and has published the largest body of original work on philosophy teaching in the English language. Each quarterly issue offers a unique mix of articles, reports, case studies, and reviews.

Analytical Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, published by Viterbo University, has a broad agenda covering reflective teaching and community inquiry. It includes such topics as Philosophy for Children, narrative in teaching and learning, liberation pedagogy, Vygotskian psychology, and cognitive science. The journal publishes articles, classroom dialogues, research reports, stories, reviews, and essays.

Childhood & Philosophy, published by the International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children (ICPIC). Childhood & Philosophy is a biannual journal dedicated to the intersections and interfaces of philosophy, childhood, children’s philosophies, and philosophical inquiry with children. It welcomes all submissions, both theoretical and applied, that are located within or between these boundaries. It also offers a forum for descriptions of and reports on events and projects involving philosophical practice with children.

Special issues in academic journals

Philosophy Now published a special edition about Philosophy for Children: Issue 84 (May/June2011). Philosophy Now is a newsstand magazine for everyone interested in ideas. It aims to corrupt innocent citizens by convincing them that philosophy can be exciting, worthwhile and comprehensible, and also to provide some light and enjoyable reading matter for those already ensnared by the muse, such as philosophy students and academics. Philosophy Now appears every two months. It contains articles on all aspects of Western philosophy, as well as book reviews, letters, news, cartoons, and the occasional short story. It is the most widely-read philosophy periodical in the English language. Philosophy Now also publishes an Australian events calendar.

Teaching Philosophy. Special issue devoted to philosophical inquiry at the high school level (including its non-U.S. equivalent, such as Gymnasium, Bachillerato, Sixth Form, etc.). Guest Editors: Jana Mohr Lone and Mitchell Green.

Journal of Philosophy of Education, Vol. 45, No. 2 (2011).

Educational Philosophy and Theory, Vol. 43, No. 5 (2011) Special Issue: Educating philosophically: The educational theory of Philosophy for Children.

Gifted Education International, Vol. 22, Nos. 2/3 (2007).

Metaphilosophy Vol. 35, No. 5 (October 2004).

Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, Vol. 14,No. 2 (Winter, 2000), Special Issue On Philosophy for Children; Guest Editor: Maughn Gregory.

Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, Vols. 16, No. 4 (Summer1997) and Vol. 17, No. 1 (Autumn 1997) Special Double Issue On Community of Inquiry; Guest Editor: David Kennedy.

Early Child Development and Care, Vol. 107, No. 1 (1995).

Other journals and magazines of interest

Think is edited by Dr Stephen Law and published by the Royal Institute of Philosophy in the UK. Think demonstrates the relevance of philosophy to everyday life and forges a direct link between contemporary philosophy and the widest possible readership. The journal is written in an engaging and straightforward way, but raises fundamental questions about philosophical issues of topical importance. The journal also exposes some of the bad philosophy which often passes as accepted wisdom (e.g. religious, scientific, anthropological, etc). Perhaps most importantly, Think enables philosophers of the next generation to fully engage with the leading philosophers of today. It is aimed at a very wide audience encompassing undergraduates, schools, colleges and the general public. It is ideal for use by students and teachers following courses in philosophy, religious studies, and critical thinking. It will be of particular interest to students following the Theory of Knowledge course in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme.

The Journal of Applied Philosophy provides a unique forum for philosophical research which seeks to make a constructive contribution to problems of practical concern. It is a peer reviewed journal with an international editorship and readership, and it covers a broad spectrum of issues in environment, medicine, science, policy, law, politics, economics and education.

The Philosopher, the electronic journal of the Philosophical Society of England is the oldest general Philosophy Journal in the world. It provides a forum for short, original and accessible articles. The Philosopher believes in principle anything can be made clear to the interested reader.

Moral Relativism Magazine is a print-only, “zine”-style publication that you can hold in your hand, give to a friend, or carry in your purse for emergencies.

New Philosophers is an Australian independent quarterly magazine devoted to exploring philosophical ideas from past and present thinkers on ways to live a more fulfilling life. Commentary on New Philosopher aims to guide readers into living a happier and freer mode of existence.

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