In a rapidly changing world, it's more important than ever that children and young people are equipped with the tools necessary for navigating the demands of a shared democratic life.  In response to this demand, for the last several decades practitioners of 'Philosophy with Children' (PwC) have stressed the essential role that opportunities for dialogue, critical reasoning, and empathetic understanding play in empowering young minds and fostering the emotional intelligence needed to live a flourishing life with others.  Despite demand from educators, however, opportunities for philosophical education within NI remain limited.

By bringing together world-class academic researchers on philosophical education, (primary and secondary) educators, school leaders, PwC facilitators, NGOs, and policymakers, this Conference aims to showcase the benefits of philosophical education and to explore the potential role it might play in shaping pedagogical practice in the region.  During this event, you will hear from experts who have researched the effects of philosophical education for children, as well as educators and trained facilitators who have success in bringing philosophy to their classrooms.

We will also hear from the creators of documentary Young Plato about their project with Thinking Changes.

The event may be of particular interest to those who work in areas of religious, PDMU, citizenship, and critical thinking education, or who work on projects relating to shared, integrated, and post-conflict education.

This event is co-hosted by The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen's University Belfast.

This event is funded by the AHRC Impact Acceleration Account at Queen’s University Belfast.

Schedule 

Speaker Biographies

Jason Buckley (aka ‘The Philosophy Man’)

A former English teacher, Jason is the leading independent provider of Philosophy for Children (P4C) in the UK. His organisation, The Philosophy Man, delivers training and support to over 2000 teachers per year.

Jane Gatley (Swansea University)

Presentation title: ‘Spaces in the curriculum that need Philosophy’

A former secondary school teacher, Jane Gatley is a Lecturer in Education at Swansea University.  Her special research interests include the aims of education, the curriculum, the value of philosophy, and teaching philosophy in schools.  Jane’s first book Why Teach Philosophy in Schools was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.

Nadia Siddiqui (Durham University)

Presentation title: ‘Wider educational outcomes: The purpose of school beyond literacy and numeracy’

Nadia Siddiqui is a Professor in the School of Education at Durham University. She has published extensively on issues relating to the equalisation of educational opportunities, particularly for those living in poverty.  She has conducted large-scale studies examining the effectiveness of ‘Philosophy for Children’ programmes in schools.

Laura D’Olimpio (University of Birmingham)

Paper title: ‘Philosophy for everyone: critical and caring thinking on the curriculum’

Laura D’Olimpio is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Education at the University of Birmingham.  She is an established expert on philosophy in schools, with a particular focus on the role it can play in preparing children for a flourishing life.  Her most recent book, The Necessity of Aesthetic Education: The Place of the Arts on the Curriculum, was published by Bloomsbury in 2024.

Kevin McArevey (Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School, Belfast)

Kevin is Principal of Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School and star of the award-winning documentary Young Plato (2021).  He is a passionate advocate of philosophy in schools and believes it to play an essential role in nurturing the emotional and critical thinking skills of children.

Conference Co-ordinator

Dr Suzanne Whitten (Queen's University Belfast)

Suzanne is a Senior Lecturer in Political Theory and Philosophy in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics and a Fellow of The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.  She is Principal Investigator of The Critical Civility Project, which aims to explore the use of ‘philosophy with children’ in nurturing empathetic reasoning, critical thinking, and the understanding of difference in children and young people.

The featured image has been used courtesy of 愚木混株 cdd20, Unsplash.