The Impact of Teaching Philosophy for Children on Questioning and Critical Thinking of Iranian Elementary School Girls

The present study aimed to examine whether teaching philosophy for children could have a positive impact on the development of questioning and critical thinking ability of the third to fifth grade elementary school girls in a school in Varamin، Iran in 2008-2009 academic year. To this end، 34 students were selected through simple random sampling and assigned to an experimental and a control group، each group consisting of 17 participants. For collecting the data، the revised version of the questioning ability measurement style was used. The revised version of the Critical Thinking Measurement Test (Naji، Tabatabaei، & Khorramdel) was administered to the participants of the study after estimating its reliability and validity. The scores of the participants in the two groups were compared through independent samples t-test after the intervention. To test the hypothesis of the study، a pretest-posttest experimental design was used. The course consisted of 10 consecutive sessions and met once a week. The classes were conducted through using the class management method as well as Sharp-Lipman inquiry cycle to teach the modified versions of Philip Cam’s and Robert Fisher’s stories. In addition to the quantitative method، the behavior and performance of the participants (observations of teachers، parents، trainers، and tutors) was reported. The results revealed that teaching philosophy to children had an effect on the improvement of reasoning and critical thinking of the students. Furthermore، further improvement in students’ thinking skills was signified. The findings of the study were compatible with the similar studies carried out in the field.