Philosophy for Children Hawaiʻi and its influence on the development of students' reflective thinking in classroom discussions

Abstract

This study focuses on whether the Philosophy for Children Hawaii program (P4C Hawaii) is facilitating reflective thinking in classroom discussions. This study examines the reflective thinking of the group as a whole. Certain characteristics of Dewey's concept of reflective thinking are incorporated into the P4C Hawaii program. They are: (a) persistence; (b) whether the discussion scratched beneath the surface of the topic; ( c) the use of the Good Thinker's Tool Kit; and (d) progress in the inquiry. These characteristics were used in the analysis of three elementary classroom discussions throughout the fall semester of the 2005-2006 school year. This study provides evidence that the P4C Hawaii program facilitates reflective thinking and growth of reflective thinking across time when its guidelines are consistently followed.