Philosophical Enquiry in Schools
In 2004 the Helen Hamlyn Trust (HHT) developed an integrated education programme for Primary Schools to reach children at the earliest stages of their education, to improve engagement and aspirations thus improving outcomes. In 2005/6 Open Futures, which is based on thinking skills pedagogy (Fisher 1998), was initiated by the HHT and led by Lucy O’Rorke. They began a pilot scheme known as growit cookit, with the Royal Horticultural Society and the RSA Focus on Food Campaign, working together in 10 schools along the south coast. In 2006/7 filmit and askit were added to the Open Futures programme. In collaboration with designer the late Andy Cameron, filmit was developed by HHT, and askit was developed with SAPERE to put enquiry at the heart of the school curriculum and specifically to underpin learning in the context of a skills-based approach. Working with schools and their communities in the UK and India, Open Futures ran with widespread success for over 10 years, reaching more than 50,000 children in the UK (Crabbe et al. 2015).
Independent evidence showed that both individual strands, as well as the complete Open Futures programme, significantly improved learner outcomes (Boaler 2008), as evidenced by an independent study from the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching at the University of Newcastle (Crabbe, et al. 2015). Research into the effectiveness of Philosophy for Children (P4C) demonstrated repeatedly the positive impacts it had on pupils’ learning and attainment. For example, in a randomised controlled trial study into the impact of P4C in primary and secondary schools, Topping and Trickey (2007) showed significant pre–post cognitive ability gains. The study provided evidence of maintained cognitive gains from collaborative philosophical enquiry that transferred across contexts. askit has a specific procedure and use of learning materials that results in students asking and discussing their own questions, under the direction of a trained teacher, so that the discussion has a direct impact on the students’ ability to think and learn independently.
Philosophical Enquiry in FE
Central Bedfordshire College (CBC) is a general FE college of approximately 5,500 learners and a turnover of around £12m. The college has three campuses across Central Bedfordshire – in Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard – and a fourth in Luton. The college offers a range of full and part-time courses, including vocational and academic, from further to higher education. The vocational curriculum includes engineering, robotics and automotive, construction, science, hospitality and catering, digital media, public services, sport, hairdressing, holistic therapies, child care education, health and social care, and teacher education. Students study vocationally‐orientated, skills-based subjects that relate directly to their lives and careers beyond the college.
In late 2013, CBC was judged to be good (Grade 2) by Ofsted. Following the inspection, the college looked for new pedagogies in its pursuit of excellence. The college worked in partnership with the Open Futures Programme of the HHT to explore the possibility of adapting philosophical enquiry to the technical and vocational education and training sector. The purpose was to use this work as part of a strategy to drive further improvements in teaching, learning and assessment, and raising the aspirations of learners and the expectations of teachers. The askit approach fitted in with CBC’s philosophy of developing students as independent learners and thinkers, alongside developing their problem-solving and literacy skills. In summary, askit complements what is essentially a vocational, skills-based curriculum.
askit in the College
CBC has developed a new way for FE learners to make sense of their realities and how their vocational studies will impact their future career and society. The work focuses on vocational teachers engaging with learners on matters that directly impact their aspirations and self-esteem in relating their training and their locality to their future careers. It is based on developing learners’ ability to articulate philosophical questions and to deal with each other’s views in a mature manner. It is an enquiry-based approach to teaching, learning and assessment that develops students’ ability to think critically and creatively and learn independently (Topping & Trickey 2007). Its power emanates from what students are able to do by the time they finish any course at whatever level at the college.
askit develops a ‘community of enquiry’ where every individual is valued for his/her unique experience and interests. Key aims are to develop understanding and good judgement, and the sense of community grows as students learn to listen to each other, building on each other’s thinking and respecting differences. This is based around the ‘Four Cs of Thinking’:
- Caring: listening and valuing what others say, showing interest, being sensitive
- Collaborative: responding and supporting, building on each other’s ideas
- Critical: questioning and reasoning, seeking meaning, evidence, reasons, distinctions
- Creative: connecting ideas and suggesting comparisons, examples, alternative explanations.