Philosophy for Children and Professional Development of Teachers (qualitative study)

A review of the research literature showed that very few studies focusing on teacher development in the philosophy education approach for children have been reported. Therefore, according to the existing research gap in the country, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of Philosophy for Children in the professional development of teachers. The approach of this research is inductive and a qualitative method has been used to conduct it. The type of field research and case study method was used. The statistical population of the research was academic staff members and teachers who had research and teaching experience in this field. In the present study, 12 members were interviewed using the purposeful sampling method. Then the data obtained from them were analyzed through open, central and selective coding. The results of the research findings showed that teaching philosophy for children in self-knowledge, respect for others' opinions, reflection on one's own teaching, recognition of students' capacity, student-centeredness, transfer of teaching strategies learned in teaching philosophy for children to Other courses, development of thinking, development of facilitation, development of collaborative research, improvement of communication skills, development of culture, development of dialogue training, development of team work and generally have an impactful role in promoting the professional development of teachers. Considering the individual and social contributions of the method of Philosophy for Children, it is clear that the implementation of this approach will be useful in all educational levels from preschool to university.