Philosophy for Children and Aggression Control

Among emotional reactions، due to its individual and social consequences، aggression has attracted the attention of many psychologists and sociologists. Despite some aggressive behaviors at early years، there are some opportunities to learn self-supervising skills in a child’s growth process which lead to appropriate anger and aggression control. However، since some children fail to acquire such skills، they express some levels of aggression in their interpersonal relationships. School is the most important institution in developing children’s social skills. Research indicates that the most significant reasons for aggression include failure in self-expression، facing dilemmas and ambivalent situations، and lack of sufficient reasoning ability. Therefore، creating a friendly and thought-provoking environment in which listening to a child is considered a value can cultivate reasoning ability، promote judgment، and foster making distinctions. The result of such an environment is hindering children from aggressive behavior. The pioneers of Philosophy for Children Program believe that improving reasoning skills derived from logical thinking should begin with a child’s social life. Hence، Philosophy for Children Program، as a reflective approach، tries to boost reasoning and judgment of children through creating a community of inquiry. Group discussions، while strengthening their reasoning and logical abilities، are expected to control their aggression. Many researchers showed positive effect of this program on control of aggression in children and adolescents