Impact of Philosophy for Children and Its Challenges: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Philosophy for children (P4C) has been implemented worldwide. P4C has been researched empirically in order to evaluate its effectiveness and address the current lack of a systemic literature review of research on P4C. Therefore, this SLR study aims to identify how P4C positively affects aspects other than students’ thinking and the challenges that teachers and students face in implementing the program. The methodology and writing method used was PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis). Articles and materials related to the topic were located primarily using two databases, Web of Science and Scopus. Using thematic analysis, this SLR derived five main themes, namely (1) higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), (2) safe environments, (3) civilized students, (4) democracy in discussion, and (5) the culture of thinking in the classroom. There are also challenges faced by teachers and students.

“Scie-losophy” a teaching and learning framework for the reconciliation of the P4C and the scientific method

“…In their review, they called for future research to overcome the challenges faced by teachers and students when implementing P4C by providing teaching modules using P4C for teachers. For the constructed stimulating module, they required appropriate materials for the students’ cultural environment, religion, and level of thinking [14] . This solution implies that P4C is to continue being used as it is to supplement some lessons which means science classes for instance will continue to use the scientific method.…”

“…Roger Sutcliffe has proposed that there are six essential strands of effective learning. Ab Wahab (2022) emphasized the importance of paying attention to the lack of transparency, subjectivity, author bias, recruitment bias, and publication bias in studies that report on P4C advantages, and he concluded that there is a lack of systematic literature review which is needed for transparency and comprehensive structure [14] . In the scope of this article, we will systematically examine and compare the presence of the six strands of philosophical teaching most conducive to learning in both P4C and scientific methodologies.…”

Decolonising Classroom Management and Its Political Hegemony in Universities

“…A Study by Khan et al (2020) showed that dialogic teaching promotes students' critical thinking and knowledge construction (Khan et al 2020). Through dialogic interactions between teachers and students, learners are encouraged to ask questions, express their opinions, and justify their thinking (Ab Wahab et al 2022). According to a study by Baxan et al (2020), this active engagement with the material allows students to critically analyse information and develop their own under-standing, effectively challenging traditional knowledge hierarchies that often marginalise certain perspectives or voices (Baxan et al 2020).…”

Philosophers in Schools: An assessment of the ongoing partnership between The Philosophy Foundation and King’s College London’s Philosophy Department

“…Trickey and Topping also report that children in intervention groups reported increased self-esteem and showed evidence of 'significant reduction in dependency and anxiety and of greater self-confidence', particularly for girls (Trickey & Topping 2006, p. 599). More recent meta-analyses (Mahmoudi 2010;Yan et al 2018) and systematic reviews (Ab Wahab et al 2022) of worldwide research shows that P4C and similar programmes, such as PhiE, can be cognitively and emotionally beneficial for many children in schools.…”