Skip to main content

Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children

  • Living reference work entry
  • Latest version View entry history
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory

Synonyms

Community of Inquiry; Dialogic Teaching; Educational Philosophy; Ethical Inquiry; Inquiry Dialogue; Philosophical Dialogue; Philosophical Education; Philosophical Inquiry; Philosophy and Childhood; Philosophy for Children; Philosophy with Children

Introduction

Philosophy for Children (P4C) is a designation first associated with Matthew Lipman’s and Ann Margaret Sharp’s particular approach, which now exists within a broader, global educational movement, Philosophy with Children (PwC). Today, many approaches that share similar commitments to the Lipman-Sharp (LS) approach use the P4C label as well. Throughout this entry, LS-P4C will be used to indicate the Lipman-Sharp approach. LS-P4C was the first attempt to develop a comprehensive curriculum designed to engage children and teenagers in philosophical inquiry. Often referred to as the “Lipman approach,” LS-P4C is better understood as the result of an extensive and equal collaboration between Matthew Lipman (1922–2010) and Ann...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Buchler, J. (1954). What is a discussion? Journal of General Education, 8(10), 7–17. Reprinted with edits by Lipman, M. (1979). Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children, 1(1), 49–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Marzio, D. (2007). What happens in philosophical texts: Matthew Lipman’s theory and practice of the philosophical text as model. Childhood and Philosophy, 7(19), 29–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, M. (2002). Constructivism, standards and the classroom community of inquiry. Educational Theory, 52(4), 397–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1978). Suki. Montclair: IAPC

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1980). Mark. Montclair: IAPC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1981). Pixie. Montclair: IAPC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1982). Harry Stottlemeiers Discovery (2nd ed.). Montclair: IAPC

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1982). Kio & Gus. Montclair: IAPC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1983). Lisa (2nd ed.). Montclair: IAPC

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1996) Nous. Montclair: IAPC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (1996). Philosophical discussion plans and exercises. Analytic Teaching, 16(2), 64–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (2001). Philosophy for children: Some assumptions and implications. Ethik und Sozialwissenschaften. Streitforum für Erwägungskultur EuS 12 Heft 4/Number 4, 405–416. http://iug.upb.de/ewe

  • Lipman, M. (2003). Thinking in education (2nd ed.). Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (2008). Philosophy for children’s debt to Dewey. In M. Taylor, H. Schreier, & P. Ghiraldelli (Eds.), Pragmatism, education, and children: International philosophical perspectives (pp. 143–151). Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M., Sharp, A., & Oscanyan, F. (1980). Philosophy in the classroom. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipman, M. (2003). Elfie (2nd ed.). Montclair: IAPC

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, N., & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the development of childrens thinking: A socio-cultural approach. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peirce, C. S. (1955). The fixation of belief. In J. Buchler (Ed.), Philosophical writings of Peirce (pp. 5–22). New York: Dover Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, A. M. (1999). The Doll Hospital. Australia: ACER.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, A. M. (2000). Geraldo. Australia: ACER

    Google Scholar 

  • Soter, A., Wilkinson, I. A. G., Murphy, P. K., Rudge, L., Reninger, K., & Edwards, M. (2008). What the discourse tells us: Talk and indicators of high-level comprehension. International Journal of Educational Research, 47, 372–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Splitter, L., & Sharp, A. M. (1995). Teaching for better thinking: The classroom community of inquiry. Melbourne: ACER.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joe Oyler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this entry

Cite this entry

Oyler, J. (2016). Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children. In: Peters, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_226-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_226-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-532-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children
    Published:
    14 May 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_226-2

  2. Original

    Philosophy with Children: The Lipman-Sharp Approach to Philosophy for Children
    Published:
    15 February 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_226-1