TEACHER’S PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES IN IMPLEMENTING “p4cHI” IN MIYAGI, JAPAN

Abstract

This study aims to obtain a deeper understanding of teachers’ perceptions and experiences in practicing p4c in Miyagi prefecture, Japan. Since Matthew Lipman established Philosophy for Children (P4C) in 1960’s, many educators and researchers from all over the world have studied and implemented this pedagogical approach in their own fields. Thomas Jackson, a philosopher and educator in Hawaiʻi, learned about this approach and brought it back in Hawaiʻi in 1984. However, Jackson and his colleagues found it necessary to modify P4C in order to fit the culture and context of Hawaiʻi. As a result of these modifications, the philosophy for children Hawaiʻi (p4cHI) approach emerged. In Japan, educators have paid increasing attention to P4C and p4cHI since the 2010s. One reason for this was the revised Course of Study issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2017. The new Course of Study suggested that Japanese education should be “nurturing proactive, interactive and authentic learning” (Outline of the revision of courses of study, 2017, p. 1). Furthermore, the traumatic experiences of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 caused educators to reflect on the purposes of education and think about what kind of society they want to co-create with children. In Miyagi prefecture, p4cHI was discovered and implemented as a way to restore and re-establish communities in both schools and society. This research project focuses on these teachers’ experiences and perceptions while learning about p4cHI and implementing p4c in Miyagi prefecture. This research project is a qualitative study that takes a phenomenological approach. The author interviewed 17 teachers in Miyagi prefecture and analyzed the data through the theoretical framework of “Structure and Agency,” which was established by sociologists such as Émile Durkheim and has been developed by thinkers such as Pierre Bourdieu, Talcott Parsons and Margaret Archer. The discussion suggests that the p4c approach created unique “spaces” in classrooms in Miyagi that gave both teachers and students novel experiences and opportunities to exercise their agency. The spaces discussed are those of unfamiliarity, community, experimentation and reflection. After the discussion, this thesis concludes with recommendations and some final remarks.