The Impact of Philosophy for Children (P4C) on the Development of learners‟ Critical Thinking abilities among Primary School Pupils: a Case Study

Abstract

Critical thinking is considered by many scholars and educators as an essential element to academic success. Critical thinking does not only help learners to develop strong thinking abilities, but also to be autonomous learners. To achieve this goal nemours strategies have been introduced to elevate learners‟ higher-order thinking skills, but the majority of them have not met the desired outcomes. As an alternative method, philosophy For Children emerged to solve this issue at an early age. This research paper aims at exploring the impact of philosophy for children on the development of critical thinking abilities for learners at an early stage of education. To answer the main research questions, a descriptive research approach was adopted; data collection methods that were used to analyze data gathered consisted of classroom observation, structured checklist, and audio records. Videos were also designed to ensure the full understanding of the main concepts discussed inside the classroom. This study included two groups; the first group consisted of 39 learners from EL ZAHHRA Middle school, and the second group contained 19 learners from the private school EL NOOR. The findings show that the use of the P4C approach was effective in helping learners to think in a more logical way and makes them perceive abstract concepts from different perspectives it also suggests that P4C can be used as an essential teaching strategy to overcome the limitations that the Algerian educational system offers. This research attempted to highlight a new teaching approach, which is philosophy for children, in teaching complex concepts and ideas that may be hard for them to understand in the traditional way. This approach was effective in helping learners use and develop their critical thinking abilities