Developing a Practical Strategy Against Xenophobia Using The Example of Children's Philosophy
Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture (2000-2001)
Research "Xenophobia", Univ.-Lekt. Dr Dr h.c. Daniela G. Camhy, Ursula Glaeser, Clara Kenner and Silvia Paar, Austrian Society for Philosophy with Children.
The central question of this project is: Does philosophizing with children represent a strategy against xenophobia? In order to test this, children's attitudes and ideas about foreigners were surveyed and the results of the experimental classes were compared synchronously with those of the control classes. At the diachronic level, the individual results were analysed for changes over the course of the project. The results of the analyses should provide information on whether philosophizing with children leads to an unbiased and positive attitude towards strangers and contributes to the development of social skills. The children in the test classes evaluate strangers more frequently and more positively. In addition, towards the end of the project, they describe encounters with strangers more often positively and less often negatively than the children in the control classes. Moreover, these encounters are perceived as "normal" much more frequently in one experimental class than in the other classes
At the same time, the pupils in the experimental classes begin to question negative judgements of other people. It can be assumed that these tendencies will increase if philosophizing is carried out over a longer period of time. As philosophizing with children promotes the ability to reflect and critically question, it also strengthens self-esteem, prevents generalisations, stereotypes and prejudices from being adopted and scapegoating strategies from being used.
Methods:
This is a qualitative content analysis according to P. Mayring, combined with a discourse analysis.
Results:
Philosophizing with children took place once a week in two classes over the course of a year (experimental classes). Two control groups in the same age group were used (9- to 10-year-old children). Interviews were conducted with all children at the beginning and end of the school year. They wrote essays and were presented with sentence and picture completion tasks.