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Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children

About the IAPC

IAPC Mission Statement

Since its inception in 1974, the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children has pursued a three-fold mission:
  1. Inquiry into Educational Philosophy. The Institute conducts, sponsors and advises theoretical scholarship and empirical research in teaching pre-college philosophy, and in educational philosophy, defined as the use of philosophy for obtaining educational objectives including multi-dimensional thinking, social inquiry, collective self-governance, emotional sensibility, and moral and aesthetic judgment.
  2. Philosophy for Children Programming. The Institute provides systematic curriculum materials in Philosophy for Children, and offers a number of forums of teacher preparation in the use of this curriculum, with emphasis on the pedagogy of the Community of Inquiry.
  3. Educational Reform. The Institute contributes to initiatives of educational reform consistent with the educational commitments specified above.
The primary constituency the IAPC aims to serve is schoolchildren—from pre-schoolers to highschoolers and from schools close to the Institute to schools in the 40-odd nations with active Philosophy for Children centers. In addition to working directly with schoolchildren, members of the IAPC work with several constituencies, including professional and pre-professional educators, educational administrators and policy-makers, and faculty and students of education, philosophy and related disciplines.

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IAPC Awards & Recognitions

  • The IAPC is an approved Classification One Professional Development Provider for the New Jersey Department of Education. Click here for information about professional development in Philosophy for Children through the IAPC.
  • The US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (BECA) included the MSU/KSPU Ukraine Partnership−of which Philosophy for Children was a major focus - in a special publication, "Twenty Years of Strengthening Institutions and Bridging Cultures" (2002) that highlighted only 29 out of more than 700 partnership grants awarded over the last 20 years. Available as pdf file; click here to download.
  • American Philosophical Association 2001 Award for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs
  • United States Department of Education Program Effectiveness Panel Certificate of Revalidation (on display at IAPC) "in recognition of your contributions to excellence in education," May, 1995.
  • United States Department of education Program Effectiveness Panel Certificate of Validation.
  • Listing as "Exemplary Program" in Educational Programs That Work, the National Diffusion Network catalogue of exemplary educational programs, annual editions 1986-1995)
  • UNESCO Report on Philosophy for Children. In March, 1998 UNESCO held an international "meeting of experts" in Philosophy for Children, with the result that UNESCO's Division of Philosophy and Ethics resolved "to pursue this project with renewed vigour during the forthcoming biennium, its mission being to help promote a philosophy education programme for children." Go to full UNESCO Report.
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IAPC Affiliations

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IAPC in the News

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Click here to view the IAPC Timeline.

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