Marina Santi

The Missing Dimensions of Children's Well-being and Well-becoming in Education Systems: Capabilities and Philosophy for Children

The objectives of this paper are twofold. The first is to consider how the capability approach can help rethink the policy goals of educational systems by analysing well-being and well-becoming from an individual and societal point of view. The second is to explore Philosophy for Children as a suitable pedagogical approach to promote capable agents and enhance critical, creative and caring thinking. The paper is divided into four parts. After a background is sketched, the capability approach and the concept of evolving capabilities are disentangled in order to rethink educational systems. The Philosophy for Children approach is then presented as a pedagogical base and possible instrument to foster the individual faculties (creativity, critical thinking and care) needed to flourish and participate fully in society (these are usually missing in achievement-based educational systems). In the final part of the paper the main elements of change are recalled and some conclusions are offered.

Learning Democratic Thinking: A Curriculum to Philosophy for Children as Citizens.

Abstract In 2008, the Italian government passed a law that introduced a new school subject: Citizenship and Constitution. The law requires all students between the ages of 3 and 16 to attend almost 400 h of Citizenship Education during their 13 years of compulsory schooling. The law is part of an increasingly wider international effort that focuses on improving pupils’ knowledge of and involvement in society by exposing them to history and civic content. The aim of this article was to present a Citizenship Curriculum and its possible implementation in schools and other areas. Taking into account the Curriculum Transposition model, we propose both an External Transposition, which analyses international and national documents about Citizenship Education, and an Internal Transposition, in order to design a curriculum that will enable children to participate in decision-making processes and improve their complex thinking. The Implemented Citizenship Curriculum (Poli§ophia project) was introduced into the Municipal Council of Children, and the Philosophy for Children method was applied in order to help children make moral judgments, a fundamental component of democratic thinking.

L’improvvisazione tra metodo e atteggiamento: potenzialità didattiche per l’educazione di oggi e di domani

This essay wants to reflect upon the concept and practice of improvisation, showing how improvisation could be an educational possible perspective to allow to schools and teachers to fulfill educational requests of contemporary society. Starting from theoretical and social considerations, the essay faces what means to improvise in teaching, when it is possible for a teacher to improvise while he/she is teaching, and why this practice could be generative for an authentic human development.