Learning for Wisdom in Early Childhood and Primary School Education

This book explores how wisdom can be cultivated through learning in the early years and primary schooling. It brings together diverse traditions and practices, showing how children’s encounters with nature, stories, and community can nurture curiosity, resilience, and ethical awareness, resonating across cultures and generations.

The chapters weave together case studies and approaches that highlight the richness of learning for wisdom. Philosophical inquiry into wisdom can develop a child’s social, imaginative, cogitative, cognitive, intellectual, moral, emotional and spiritual skills – helping to bring their sense (and sensitivity) of wisdom to life in practice. Forest-based education demonstrates how outdoor environments foster imagination and ecological responsibility. Bibliotherapy illustrates the power of stories to support emotional growth and empathy. Social–emotional learning and whole school initiatives show how communities can embed wisdom into everyday practice. Perspectives from Australian Indigenous traditions emphasise relationality and respect, while Chinese approaches highlight continuity, moral formation, and dialogue. Together, these examples span geographical and temporal contexts, offering readers a tapestry of methods that connect ancient insights with contemporary classrooms, and practical strategies like the Wisdom Wheel.

Accessible and inspiring, this collection is designed for educators, researchers, and general readers seeking fresh ways to enrich early years and primary education. By weaving together diverse traditions and practices, it offers groundbreaking insights into how learning can cultivate wisdom — transforming early years and primary education into a foundation for lifelong flourishing.

Its sister volume, Teaching for Wisdom in Early Childhood and Primary School Education: Educators’ Practices and Pedagogies, demonstrates how educators can nurture children's curiosity, ethical reflection, and resilience in the early years and primary schooling.