Effects of Philosophy for Children on Democratic Citizenship Perception
A Mixed-Methods Experimental Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22006126 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zehra Betül ŞİŞMAN (0000-0001-7090-330X, Psychiatric Association of Turkey, corresponding author), Ihsan Ünlü (0000-0003-2769-8966, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University), Alper Kaşkaya (0000-0002-6695-6422, Gazi University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | SAGE Open (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/21582440261418832 |
| OpenAlex | W7128681287 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
Contemporary democratic societies face increasing challenges such as polarization and the erosion of public dialogue, underscoring the urgent need to equip young people with democratic citizenship skills. Philosophy for Children (P4C) offers a promising pedagogical framework to meet these challenges; however, empirical evidence of its impact on democratic citizenship remains scarce in non-Western educational contexts. This mixed-methods study examined the effects of a P4C-based education program on seventh-grade students’ perceptions of democratic citizenship in Türkiye. The experimental group participated in a 15-week intervention grounded in Lipman’s 4C model—critical, creative, caring, and collaborative thinking—while the control group followed the conventional Social Studies curriculum. Data were collected through perception scales, classroom observations, reflective journals, and focus group interviews. Findings revealed that P4C practices significantly enhanced students’ democratic understanding, including inquiry, justification, empathy, cooperation, and respect for diverse perspectives. The results suggest that P4C can transform traditional teacher-centered classrooms into democratic communities of inquiry, fostering critical and participatory citizenship. This study contributes to the growing body of research advocating philosophical inquiry in education and provides practical implications for curriculum design, teacher education, and educational policy reform
Citizen journalism · Citizenship · Curriculum · Democracy · Democratic Education · Focus group · Grounded theory · Perception · Philosophy for Children · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Values and Moral Education
Why Deliberative Democracy?
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Thinking in Education
Democratic Education
The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
Making sense of Cronbach's alpha
Czech primary school teachers’ experience with the Philosophy for Children (P4C) approach
The limits to dialogue
Philosophy for children’
Philosophy for Children
Democratizing philosophy for children
A democratic school
Can ‘Philosophy for Children’ Improve Primary School Attainment
Philosophy with Children, the Stingray and the Educative Value of Disequilibrium
What is Philosophy for Children, What is Philosophy with Children-After Matthew Lipman
Philosophy for Democracy
Identity, Citizenship and Moral Education
Playing with philosophy
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Collaborative philosophical inquiry for schoolchildren
Searching for a democratic equalizer
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |