Thesis Defense by Marie Gosselin Kerhom

Marie Gosselin Kerhom will defend her dissertation on December 17 at 9:00 a.m. Quebec time (3:00 p.m. France time) to earn a Ph.D. in Education and Training Sciences from Laval University in Quebec City and Paul Valéry University in Montpellier.

The thesis is titledOpening Up Philosophy Education to Vocational High School Students.

The defense will take place online (link provided).

The jury consists of
; Michel Sasseville, co-director, Professor of Philosophy, Laval University in Quebec City
; Richard Etienne, co-director, Professor Emeritus of Education, Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3
; Mathieu Gagnon, Associate Professor of Education, PhD, University of Sherbrooke Edwige Chirouter, Full Professor of Education, University of Nantes
Luc Begin, Full Professor of Philosophy, Laval University in Quebec City
Jean-François Goubet, Full Professor of Philosophy, University of Lille

Thesis Abstract

Experts describe critical thinking as essential for everyone in all circumstances of life, and especially for citizens of a democracy. However, it is not innate and must therefore be the subject of a genuine educational process.

Philosophy seems to be the discipline best suited to this project. However, students at vocational high schools in France are not given the opportunity to study it.

In this dissertation, we examine the feasibility and relevance of introducing philosophy instruction into vocational curricula and seek to test the hypothesis that this discipline would be beneficial to students in these programs, including from a professional standpoint.

To this end, we first present vocational education as it is currently taught and the students attending vocational high schools. We reflect on what a holistic education might entail and discuss the reasons for introducing philosophy into this curriculum. We then focus on defining critical thinking and exploring its connections to vocational training and professional practice. Next, we present the current teaching of philosophy and examine its potential adaptation for vocational high schools. We then examine two methods derived from the New Philosophical Practices—namely, the Philosophical Research Community and Discussion with Democratic and Philosophical Aims—and their connection to education in critical thinking. We then present and analyze the extensive data collected in our classrooms during these discussion sessions and test our hypothesis. Finally, based on these results, we propose avenues for further exploration.