Promoting a Community of Inquiry in a Civics and Citizenship Education Class through the Pedagogy of Philosophical Inquiry

Abstract

In realising the development of ethics and values among Malaysian school-going students, depicted in Shift 3 Aspirations of the Malaysian Educational Blueprint 2013-3025, the study examined how the pedagogy of philosophical inquiry helped in the development of a community of inquiry (CI) in the Civics and Citizenship Education classroom. The study employed a qualitative action research design, where the researcher used the observational method, which is based on the Lipman’s CI checklist, to identify seven elements of CI in the classroom; namely, participation, quest for meaning, shared cognition, challenging as a procedure, deliberation, impartiality and thinking for oneself. Findings of the study showed that the philosophical inquiry pedagogy and the community of inquiry assisted in the effective teaching of CCE as students discovered a more meaningful learning experience, became more empowered in their thinking and views, and more sensitive to the current issues, paving the way to become good citizens of the nation.