This article explores a modern approach to childhood that abandons the traditional view of children in western societies as inferior, fragile and vulnerable. The modern approach explored in this paper takes a plural perspective in the conception of children as people who are able to think for themselves and who have the absolute right to participate in the affairs that affect them. This modern approach is related in this study to the free-rangers thesis, in which childhood is interpreted as a (...) process of maturation and not as a stage of life, which is the conception linked to the traditional percepcion of childhood in the western societies. In the framework of formal education, this modern approach to childhood is related to Freire’s liberating education and the proposals for the school of philosophy with children in which philosophical practices are encouraged from an early age, thereby stimulating a much more active role for children in schools and giving their voice due recognition. So, this study highlights the importance of promoting liberating education in schools with the aim of making every effort to subvert the traditional roles of both teachers and pupils in formal education to give a more active role to children. In thi sense, this paper calls for the activity of philosophy whith children and encourages the idea of putting philosophy at the service of schools to give children’s voices greater value. (shrink)

The article is a critical discussion of the aims behind the teaching of philosophy in British primary schools. It begins by reviewing the recent Special Issue of the Journal of Philosophy of Education Vol 45 Issue 2 2011 on ‘Philosophy for Children in Transition’, so as to see what light this might throw on the topic just mentioned. The result is patchy; many, but not all, of the papers in the Special Issue deal with issues far removed from the classroom. (...) Insights from the more practical papers, especially those working within the legacy of Matthew Lipman, are woven into the ensuing discussion. This describes two overlapping strands of work in primary philosophy, one focusing more than the other on topics familiar in specialised philosophy courses for older people. The article then discusses two kinds of aim behind primary philosophy, one to do with induction into philosophy as a discipline, the other to do with the enhancement of reasoning abilities. It finds both of these problematic. While welcoming more attention to different kinds of reasoning, it does not see this as a reason for teaching philosophy in particular. The article concludes with an account of possible reasons why primary philosophy has become increasingly popular over the last two decades. (shrink)

El reconocimiento de las y los niños es una tarea esencial en las sociedades actuales, sobre todo, en Occidente, para lo que se propone una renovación en su concepción que provoque un giro en la manera cómo se perciben, afirmándolos como sujetos activos y participativos. Una renovación que se creerá necesaria en todos los ámbitos, aunque, en estas páginas, se pondrá el énfasis en la esfera de la educación formal. Para promover el reconocimiento de las y los niños, en el (...) texto se recuperará el reconocimiento recíproco de Honneth, el cual se complementará con el reconocimiento mutuo de Ricoeur, según el que, mediante un estudio del amor como ágape, entenderá que el reconocimiento debe darse gratuitamente, no como respuesta a un reconocimiento previamente recibido o esperando algo a cambio. Esta interpretación es la que se aplicará, en estas páginas, al reconocimiento de las y los niños, con la que se avanzará desde la reciprocidad hacia la mutualidad. (shrink)