philosophy for children Hawai‘i College of Education Endorsed Certificate
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Founded by Matthew Lipman in 1969, Philosophy for Children (P4C) is a global education movement. A Columbia University philosophy professor at the time, Lipman was deeply disenchanted with the traditional US school system. He believed that children did not think as well as they could or should for life in a democratic society, and he was concerned that schools actually encouraged children to have a negative view of their own intellectual abilities. To address these concerns, he created a curriculum that incorporated the skills of logic and reasoning found in the activity of philosophy to improve students’ thinking in the K–12 setting. Today, there are P4C centers and practitioners all over the world.
The UHM Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education is the home of philosophy for children Hawai‘i (p4cHI). p4cHI aims to transform the school experience by engaging people in the activity of philosophy. Students and teachers convert traditional classrooms into intellectually safe communities of inquiry. Together, they develop their ability to think for themselves in responsible ways by exploring “big questions” that arise from their interests, experiences, and learning contexts. Firmly grounded in four main pillars–community, inquiry, philosophy and reflection–p4cHI practitioners translate theory to practice by engaging in the following classroom activities:
Creating Intellectual Safety
Making a Community Ball
Using the language of the Good Thinker’s Tool Kit
Participating in Plain Vanilla
Using Magic Words
Reflecting on the Community of Inquiry
The purpose of a p4cHI College of Education Endorsed Certificate is to meet the growing demand for local, national, and international p4cHI practitioners by creating an institutional pathway for developing, verifying, and officially recognizing the experience of certified practitioners.
Students (in undergraduate or graduate programs), teachers, other professionals, researchers, and community members who are interested in becoming a p4cHI practitioner.
PHIL492: Philosophy with Children, an introductory course to p4cHI
PHIL 493: Teaching Philosophy, a supervised practicum in classrooms
At least one additional 200 level or above philosophy course
At least two additional College of Education courses
One elective course form either philosophy or education must be 300 level or higher and a cumulative GPA of 2.5 for all courses must be achieved to count towards the certificate.
Professional Portfolio
In addition, certificate program completers will also need to put together a professional portfolio that includes:
For UHM students, admissions requirements are: Graduate or Undergraduate status.
For non-UH Mānoa students, admission requirements are: an AA or BA degree (or equivalent).
Those students who do not wish to enroll in a degree program may register for the courses through Outreach College.
All applicants must submit and/or complete the following during the p4cHI certificate program application process. Please email pdf copies of items 1-4 to Dr. Amber Strong Makaiau at amakaiau@hawaii.edu
Post-secondary Transcript with a 2.0 GPA or higher;
Resume with up-to- date contact information, including email address;
Statement of Purpose, answering the question: What are the reasons you are pursuing a p4cHI UHM COE endorsed certificate?
Two Letters of Recommendation; and
Personal Interview
Upon receipt of all the documents, Dr. Makaiau will contact you via email to set up a date for your personal interview. If you need assistance throughout the interview process, please email Dr. Makaiau with your questions.
NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
International students who are already physically present at UHM on a student visa and enrolled in a UHM degree program are welcome to take the certificate, provided they continue to be in compliance with their visa regulations. At the time being, we are unfortunately unable to offer the certificate to international applicants who are not ALREADY in the U.S. on an approved non-immigrant visa.
