In many schools across the world, students experience mathematical concepts as ideas empty of wisdom and possibility. In this paper the authors analyze a philosophical conversation in which fifth-grade students were caught up in the animacy of the concept of space. Challenging the common view of mathematics as dealing with absolute truths and…

In this study, the effect of philosophy for children on primary school 4th-grade students' attitudes toward socioscientific issues (SSIs) and asking questions will be examined. A quasi-experimental design will be used in the study. In the study, 48 (experimental group [EG]: 24, control group [CG]: 24) primary school 4th-grade students studying in…

Moral education and moral growth are very important topics, and have been so as much in the fields of moral psychology and moral education as in the policies of governments and international institutions over the past decades. These two topics are also central themes within the educational proposal of Philosophy for Children (P4C), as seen in…

The Analects of Confucius has been identified as an important and influential philosophy around the globe. However, in traditional instruction, it is difficult to express the spirit of this philosophy. Therefore, many students consider it as a big challenge to study the Analects of Confucius. To cope with this problem, in this study, an…

This study addresses teachers' and students' needs for digital picture storybooks based on "Punokawan" puppet characters in elementary schools in Sukoharjo Regency. The Wayang "Punokawan" storybook media was developed based on a needs analysis in Sukoharjo Regency elementary schools implementing the 2013 Curriculum. This…

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. In this issue the authors discuss a design project they have used with upper elementary students (grades 4-6). They note ways to engage students in thinking philosophically about technology to meet engineering design outcomes in the "Next Generation Science…

The paper "Exploring Prosocial Behavior through Structured Philosophical Dialogue: A Quantitative Evaluation" ambitiously made the argument that a pedagogy grounded in dialogical inquiry as part of the Philosophy for Children program will positively affect incidents of bullying in schools. This response to the author's work includes a…

This paper describes a study of sixth grade children's conceptions of nature and the environment. In so doing, it asks that environmental educators pay more attention to children's preconceived notions of environment and nature. Should this occur the theory-practice gap in environmental education may be diminished. Learners' concept…

The problem of bullying in schools cannot be overstated. Researchers have examined the problem of bullying in schools from a variety of perspectives and have found that bullying has serious short-and long-term effects not just for the victim but for the bully as well. A variety of interventions have been implemented, and research shows that the…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the primary education second level students' motivations towards science learning in terms of various factors. Within the research, the variation of the total motivational scores in science learning according to the gender, class, socio-economic levels, success in science-technology course and…

This study explores the experiences of 4th grade students in an inquiry-based space science classroom. At the heart of the study lies the essential question: What is the lived experience of children engaged in the process of space science inquiry? Through the methodology of phenomenological inquiry, the author investigates the essence of the lived…

This study reports on the types of academic talk that contribute to enhanced explanatory responses, reasoning, problem-solving and learning. The study involved 10 groups of 3-4 students who were provided with one of three linguistic tools (i.e. Cognitive Questioning, Philosophy for Children and Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR)) to scaffold…

This year-long ethnographic study examined teacher and student discourse when interpreting text in a children's philosophy club. Specifically, the study investigated how the opportunities for learning a new discussion form, philosophical conversation, were acted, talked, and written into being as students and their teacher interacted with each…

This article analyzes three curricula for the bat/bar-mitzvah year of the public religious, Tali and public schools in Israel. It compares their views on gender and theology, and throws light on the intersection of gender, religion and education in Israeli society. It shows how the messages of the public religious and public schools serve to…

This research project investigated manifestations of critical thinking in pupils 10 to 12 years of age during their group discussions held in the context of Philosophy for Children Adapted to Mathematics. The objective of the research project was to examine, through the pupils' discussions, the development of dialogical critical thinking…