Fem vuxnas perspektiv på filosofiska samtal i skolan
Previous research on philosophy for children in schools has almost exclusively focused on how it is perceived by students. The aim of this study is to focus on how it is perceived by five teachers and other adults involved in implementing philosophy for children in schools, in total four teachers participated and one adult who worked with implementing took part in the study. The theoretical background is composed of Olga Dysthes view that knowledge is not only constructed but that the object that one intends to gain knowledge of has to be interacted with and how she applies this view dialogues in the classroom. The study was conducted by interviewing the participants. The results found that the teachers saw philosophy for children as something more than a tool to work with questions that were important to students, they were also viewed as a way to work with language and building solidarity within the class. Some of the informants also expressed views that they were certain that the discussions would end in the students aquiring the values that the school represented but that if this was not the case they would have to step in to steer the conversation towards these values. The study also found ambiguity towards the role of teachers as fascilitators of these discussions. There was a concern that the teacher as fascilitator could result in the students either returning to normal classroom behaviour or that they would alter what they said to fit what they were expecting the teacher to hold as the right answer. However the positive sides to having a teacher fascilitator was that these would know the class better and better be able to establish an environment that is suited for a philosophical discussion.