The Impact of Philosophy for Children (P4C) Approach in CENTEX Students Performance in Science 4

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Becoming a model public school learning environment will necessitate the utilization of best teaching practices to suit different learning styles. If strictly implemented, these practices are believed to nurture not only the holistic development of the learners which focus not only on mental capacity but also on the well-being of oneself and others. This study gives us a an overview on how a teaching strategy, Philosophy for Children (P4C), which stems to that of Inquiry Based and Reflective Approaches, can fit as an approach in different subject matter, more significantlyin Science subject to induce logic or reasoning and critical thinking.

METHODS

This study is a descriptive qualitative research, which aims to identify the best teaching practices utilized by the teacher in Science Four to improve the least mastered skills in Science of the Grade Four Students. There were two groups of respondents, composed of 79 Grade Four pupils and 6 teachers teaching Science from Grade One to Six.

RESULTS

The analysis of results will be composed of the (a) Results of the students' periodic test for four consecutive years, and (b) Item analysis results to see if the implementation of P4C has influence on the academic performance of students and (c) Analysis of teacher respondents on survey about the best practices used in teaching Science.

Based on the results, incorporating the Philosophy for Children (P4C) Aprroach in teaching Science helps improve the performance in Science 4, yet generally the teachers already incorporated several best practices in the classroom in the previous years.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrate that one of the most popular interventions to improve the students' performance in Science is the use of Philosophy for Children (P4C) Aprroach. It has great impact to students" cognitive abilities, developing general thinking and reasoning skills to higher levels of attainment across the curriculum. Apart from the improvements in academic performance, P4C has also shown notable non-cognitive impacts to children such as improved communications skills, teamwork and resilience, and empathy. However the correlation seen between incorporation of the Philosophy for Children and improvement in academic performance does not signify exclusive connection as there are other factors that would collectively influence the performance of the students in school.