The Importance of Dialogue in Philosophy Education for Children (P4C)

Abstract

Philosophy for Children (P4C) is a thinking education. In this program, the main purpose is not to teach children about philosophers, but to encourage children to think critically, creatively, collaboratively and caringly. In this way, children will be able to think, question and express this in a language suitable for themselves through philosophical stories. P4C is a self-contained independent course. Children's skills in reading, questioning, reasoning and respectful dialogue in the community are supported in this course. P4C accepts Socratic dialogue as a teaching method, tAkıng into account the deep-rooted history of philosophy as a thinking education program. Dialogue-based, dialogical learning overlaps with the critical, creative, collaborative and democratic environment of P4C. In the study, firstly, P4C will be discussed in detail. Afterward, dialogue, Socratic dialogue and dialog-based learning, which are important for P4C, and its unique educational environment will be mentioned. At the same time, by emphasizing the nature and necessity of dialogic learning, it will be argued that every progressive and democratic educational environment should be based on dialogic learning.