What is Philosophy for Children (P4C)?

P4C emphasises the importance of enquiry/questioning skills, imaginative and meaningful dialogue, and careful reasoning/reflection in the process of education.  It aims to improve pupils' abilities to think creatively, critically, caringly and collaboratively through well-guided discussion.  The teacher's role is that of facilitator - a ‘guide on the side, not a sage on stage' - and the class learns to evolve as a ‘community of enquiry': a group of people united in their desire to understand the world and each other more deeply.

Essentially, pupils ‘learn to learn' through P4C, by making their learning meaningful and intrinsically desirable, rather than extrinsically motivated.  It is a powerful, varied, challenging and thorough methodology, which can reinvigorate the teaching and learning experience.     

A typical P4C session begins with a stimulus, often a story, and pupils raise philosophical questions - open questions tha can have lots of answers - that the stimulus makes them think about.  Pupils vote for the question that they would most like to talk about and this becomes the focus for the enquiry.  During the enquiry, the teacher helps the group explore the philosophical concepts underlying the question and uses Socratic questioning to encourage deeper exploration of the ideas presented by the children. This 'community of enquiry' can help develop a range of skills:

• Respecting other people's ideas and points of view
• Formulating effective questions
• Reflection and thinking
• Developing cooperative and collaborative thinking

CDEC is the leading organisation in Cumbria that can offer P4C training in your setting. Please see our Courses page for training courses available in the next few months.  We can also offer whole school training for P4C, either as full day or twilight Inset sessions, or through an extended staff meeting. Please contact us at our Ambleside office to discuss your requirements.