Rethinking Dialogue Practices among Children: Philosophy for Children and Phenomenology as Approach towards Conflict Resolution in a Diverse Classroom

Abstract

This work takes off from the key concepts of Paul Weller’s thoughts on contemporary challenges to dialogue, which it adapts to the context of children’s dialogue in diverse classroom settings. The challenge in a diverse classroom is how to adapt a strategy to acknowledge the diversity of participants and reach a peaceful and productive dialogue. This article shows how Philosophy for Children (P4C) together with a phenomenological approach can be used as a tool for addressing the challenges Weller has mentioned to address the issue of children’s differences. Then, this article shows the potential of using a phenomenological approach and lived experience to establish a bridge between Philosophy for Children, critical reflection, and understanding differences in the classroom. This work argues that phenomenology as an approach is useful for P4C to have a dialogue aimed at understanding diversity, solidarity, and even pluralistic democratic engagement. Such discussions have implications for facilitating dialogue in linguistically diverse classrooms, intercultural and interethnic classrooms, and digital classrooms. Finally, this article identifies key areas for future research. This work seeks to speak and contribute to the literature on dialogic research by problematising children’s discursive positions as learners and participants of dialogue.