Squaring Soviet theory with American practice

In this chapter, Matthew Lipman reflects on his intellectual and professional journey: he recounts scholarship that influenced his work on philosophy for children and describes his visit to Moscow that resulted in a collaborative agreement with Soviet educators. Lipman starts by explaining how the educational theories of a Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky influenced his thinking about the ways to redesign classroom instruction around an open and rigorous dialogue. Lipman discusses Vygotsky&s;s focus on internalized social interactions and their implications for fostering independent thinking in students. He also describes how Dewey, Mead, and other pragmatists informed the development of a novel pedagogy centered on philosophical inquiry, philosophy for children. During a 1989 visit to Moscow, Lipman demonstrated the new pedagogical approach by facilitating discussions in local schools and sharing instructional materials. The visit led to an agreement with Soviet educators to collaborate on implementing philosophy for children in Soviet schools. Lipman views this collaboration as a promising example of the compatibility between Vygotskian theory and philosophy for children, demonstrating how an educational theory introduced by Soviet psychologists can be effectively applied through a specific pedagogical approach developed in America.