Questioning preschool children's environmental sensitivity through children' books: A philosophy for children study

Today, environmental problems are growing at an ever- increasing rate and are one of the biggest problems facing humanity. Overcoming these problems and creating a sustainable future is only possible by raising environmentally sensitive individuals. Prescholl period is the period when children's mental and emotinal development is the fastest. The education given in this period has a great influence on the future attitudes and behaviors of the invidual. Developing environmental awareness in this period will enable children to take part in society as conscious, responsible and environmentally conscious individuals in the future. In this context, it is important to raise environmental awareness from an early age. This study aims to contribute to the development of preschool children as individuals who are sensitive to environmental problems, who question with different perspectives and who can produce solutions to problems. In line with this purpose, it was investigated how to gain environmental awareness through philosophy studies with children. The research was designed using a case study from qualitative research methods. The study group consisted of a total 25 students attending a public kindergarten and an independent kindergarten in Nevşehir province in the 2022-2023 academic year. Philosophy for children sessions were organized with these students for 5 weeks. Environment-themed children's books were used as stimuli in the sessions. Research data were obtained through observation and document analysis. In order to record the observation, a finalized semi- structured observation form was created by taking two different expert opinions. Inductive content analysis was used to analyze the data obtained from the research. According to the results obtained from the research data, it is seen that philosophy for children sessions with environment-themed children's books improve children's critical thinking skills and thus approach environmental problems from different perspectives. It is thought that these sessions contribute to increasing children's environmental awareness and are effective in raising them as responsible individuals who approach environmental problems critically and can produce rational solutions to these problems. Keywords: Philosophy for Children, P4C, Environmental Sensitivity