Editor's view

Scotland's smallest education authority, Clackmannanshire, certainly wins media attention out of all proportion to its size, hosting 19 primary schools and three secondaries. Earlier this week, it attracted the attention of Radio 4's 'Today' programme with its plans to teach philosophy to three- and four-year-old nursery children. Once the presenters had dispensed with the inevitable comments about lecturers with long beards droning on about Kant and Descartes, some interesting points emerged about supporting young children to think on a deeper level and make decisions about their lives. Much of this involves using open-ended questioning, which is, of course, a fundamental principle of high-quality early years education. This project is not unique - last summer Nursery World (8 June 2006) ran an article by Amanda Hall, a nursery teacher in Dunstable, about how she runs philosophy sessions with her children. Clackmannanshire is extending the approach it has used successfully in its primary schools to nursery level, however, and it is noteworthy that the Scottish education system accords much importance to reasoning, problem-solving and self-esteem.