The effect of Philosophy for Children (P4C) approach on attitudes towards science and problem solving skills of primary school body

In this study, the effect of Philosophy for Children (P4C) Approach, which is one of the most effective ways to help children, who enjoy thinking and questioning from an early age, gain thinking skills and make sense of what they think, on primary school students' attitudes towards science and problem solving skills was investigated. What is thinking in research, the characteristics of several thinking skills (creative, critical, attitude, problem-solving thinking); By emphasizing what philosophical thinking and its basic characteristics are, it has been tried to explain the common and distinctive features of philosophical thinking, creative, critical and reflective thinking features, attitudes towards science lesson and students' problem solving skills. The historical development of Philosophy for Children, the aims it wants to achieve, the methods it contains, the role of the teacher as a facilitator and the benefits it provides are discussed. As a result, it has been tried to reveal that philosophy education is one of the most effective and productive ways for children to gain and develop philosophical thinking and to give the child the ability to think. This study also includes information about the application steps of the Philosophy for Children Approach. I applied Philosophy for Children practices for 7 weeks and 3 hours in each lesson, for a total of 21 hours. In this process, I carried out my studies using the mixed research method. In this study, it was preferred to use the descriptive sequential mixed research method since qualitative data were collected after the quantitative data were collected and analyzed. In the quantitative dimension of the research; A quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group was used. In the qualitative dimension of the research; A case study was used to analyze the data in depth. The variables related to the effect of philosophy for children approach on primary school students' attitudes towards science and problem solving skills were carefully examined and the findings were interpreted. As a result of the obtained findings; Teaching carried out using the activities and practices foreseen by the Philosophy Approach for Children; It has been concluded that 4th grade students have a positive effect on their attitudes towards science and their problem solving skills.