Matthew Lipman claims that the community of inquiry is an exemplar of
democracy in action. To many proponents the community of inquiry is
considered invaluable for achieving desirable social and political ends
through education for democracy. But what sort of democracy should we be
educating for? I outline three models of democracy: the liberal model,
which emphasises rights and duties and draws upon pre-political
assumptions about freedom; communitarianism, which focuses on identity
and participation in the creation of political ends; and deliberative
self-governance, whereby citizens deliberatively shape their collective
lives in public forums—at various levels of government and in different
political and social arenas.
I argue that some kind of
deliberative democracy is defensible as a preliminary justification for
how citizens might shape their lives, and therefore compatible with
other forms of democracy, insofar as they can result from democratic
deliberations. Acceptance of such a view raises further questions about
the purpose or aims of education consistent with this conception of
democracy. I contend that it requires an educational model that is
committed to aligning curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and school
governance to produce a transformational environment that will inform
our structures—a commitment to democratic education and not merely
education for democracy. Lipman goes part of the way to achieving these
ends, but learning how to be proficient at democratic decision-making is
like all tasks children and adolescents learn to perform. It involves
action, understanding, and awareness of what counts as doing the task
adequately.
Gilbert
Burgh teaches ethics, political philosophy, philosophy and popular
culture, and critical thinking at the University of Queensland.
Dedicated to making philosophy accessible to all, he is active in the
promotion of philosophy in schools in Australia and internationally. His
research interest is in democratic and educational reform, especially
alternatives to electoral politics, democratic education, philosophy in
schools, and philosophy as active engagement in public affairs. He is
co-author of Engaging with Ethics (Social Science Press, 2000) and
Ethics and the Community of Inquiry: Education for Deliberative
Democracy (Thomson, 2006).
The Philosophy for Children Colloquium Series
includes invited presentations from notable academics on issues related to education, philosophy and
Philosophy for Children. The Series also provides graduate students
and faculty an opportunity to present work-in-progress.
