Can a Teacher Who Is Not Familiar with Philosophical Literature Do Philosophy with Children? A Case Study

It is controversial whether a teacher, not familiar with philosophical literature, can do philosophy with children—in other words, conduct philosophical discussions in philosophy activities with them. There are views in the literature that oppose and support this issue. These debates necessitate more studies. Therefore, we carried out a qualitative case study in a kindergarten with a teacher and fifteen students in Turkey. The teacher implemented fourteen lessons with the students aged 5–6 years. The lesson plans were developed together with the researchers and the schoolteachers in meetings over three months. We collected data through field notes, meeting minutes, interviews and audio recordings. Our findings showed that the teacher was able to exhibit behaviors appropriate for philosophical inquiry during the philosophy activities with children and develop a positive attitude towards the practice. This finding supported the views arguing that a teacher with no previous philosophy training can do philosophy with children.