On the seam: Philosophy with Palestinian girls in an East Jerusalem village as a pedagogy of searching

The ‘Marwa’ elementary school (pseudonym) – an Israeli public school on the border between Israel and the Palestinian Authority – is a unique educational institution in that, despite being not religious, it only accepts from Grade 1 through to Grade 6 girls. Several years ago, the principal decided to implement a Philosophy with Children (PwC) programme as an alternative pedagogy. This paper surveys how the educational faculty regarded the introduction of this curriculum and how it contributed towards the development of philosophical discursive skills, a classroom atmosphere of friendship and caring, and critical and creative thinking competence amongst the students.