This book on Philosophy for Children is a compilation of articles written by its founders and the movement's leaders worldwide. These articles have been prepared in the dialogue and interview format. Part I explains the genesis of the movement, its philosophical and theoretical foundations. Part II examines the specialized uses of philosophical dialogues in teaching philosophy, morality, ethics and sciences. Part III examines the theoretical concerns such as the aims of the method in regards to the search for truth or (...) sense of meaning, or the debate on the novel or short stories and its characteristics. Part IV explains the practices of P4C worldwide and the issue of cultural differences, the ways of the community of inquiry and the necessary adaptation to suit local concerns. The book concludes with a notable review of the progress of P4C, the obstacles, and its international spread to over 60 countries. These penetrating insights make the book an incredibly rich resource for anyone interested in or involved with implementing a P4C programme. Brave Old Subject, Brave New World Teaching Science and Morality Via P4C Showing Children can do Philosophy. (shrink)

To investigate the effect of philosophical thinking on the development of reasoning skills and behavioral performance among Iranian primary school students, we conducted a qualitative method study with ten fourth grade students (including boys and girls)selected from different primary schools in Tehran1. We also study the reactions of children and their parents to this new method of education, which thoroughly differs from the method practiced in our schools now. This study was carried out in the Institute for Humanities and Cultural (...) Studies, as an extra class once a week for twenty sessions. Data collection strategies of this study including the authors’ observations during sessions, children’s parents’ observations and reports, and interviews with children and their parents. Our research result shows that reasoning skills enhance communication skills by enabling children to express their ideas more persuasively. We also found that children act more confidently and independently. (shrink)

In these two long-distance interviews, Iranian Saeed Naji, founder of the Philosophy for Children movement in Iran, questions two veteran practitioners of philosophy for children/community of philosophical inquiry . He raises issues related to P4C/CPI as representative of a larger educational paradigm, which he calls “reflective education,” and weighs its prospects for replacing what he calls the “traditional paradigm” worldwide. He also queries the two scholars on issues such as criteria for appropriate texts/stimuli for practicing philosophy with children; issues around (...) teacher preparation; the epistemological paradigm of CPI and its relation to the logic of scientific discovery and mathematical proof; the status of CPI as a “new” or reconstructed form of the discipline of philosophy; the prospects for a narrative approach to philosophy as exemplified in the new literary genre of the Lipmanian philosophical novel for children; the relationship between the practice of CPI in schools and the possibility for educational reconstruction, particularly in the area of social democracy and school governance; the significance of understanding the child as a “privileged stranger” to patriarchal colonialist culture, and the social implications of a form of education based on dialogue rather than forced enculturation; and the implications for the construction and delivery of curriculum in a school in which CPI and emergent curriculum were central organizational elements. (shrink)