Philosophy for Children Hawai‘i
Graduate Certificate
Typical Length 18 months
Delivery Varies
Nationally Accredited
With roots reaching deeply into American Pragmatism and the thought of philosophers such as John Dewey and William James, Philosophy for Children (P4C) is a widely respected international movement in education. It was started around 1969 when Matthew Lipman, a Columbia University philosophy professor, observed that children did not think as well as they could or should in a democratic society. To address these issues Lipman created a curriculum that incorporated the skills of logic and reasoning found in the practice of philosophy to improve students’ thinking in the K – 12 setting. In an effort to extend Lipman’s original curriculum and vision to a variety of geo-cultural contexts, a number of P4C Centers have been established worldwide.
Among these centers is the Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education (Uehiro Academy) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). The Uehiro Academy is the home of philosophy for children Hawai‘i (p4cHI). p4cHI is a culturally responsive offshoot of Lipman’s original approach. The goal of p4cHI is to move school culture from a top-down model to a community-based, participatory model grounded progressive philosophy and pedagogy. To accomplish this goal, p4cHI practitioners convert traditional classrooms into intellectually safe communities of inquiry where students and teachers develop their abilities to think for themselves in responsible ways.
The purpose of the UHM COE Graduate Certificate in p4cHI program is to provide local, national, and international candidates an institutional pathway for developing, verifying, and officially recognizing their abilities as a p4cHI practitioner. All UHM COE Graduate Certificate in p4cHI program completers are recognized on their diploma and transcript.
