Features of the philosophy for children program for fourth grade primary school children according to stakeholder opinions

Philosophy for children takes place in the company of a practitioner, based on a children's book, picture, poem or other stimulus. It can be taken as a method, an approach or even a lesson. In this research, philosophy for children is examined as a course. In the research, it is aimed to reveal the characteristics of a philosophy course curriculum for children that will be prepared for primary school fourth grade students. In this direction, the qualitative research method was adopted and the research was conducted with a case study pattern. Observation and interview were used as data collection tools. In this direction, interviews were held with philosophy educator trainers, philosophy field experts, teachers and students for children. In addition, observations were made in a fourth grade where philosophy activities were carried out for children. The obtained data were analyzed by content analysis technique. According to the findings of the research, the aims of the philosophy course curriculum for children can be grouped under the headings of skills, values and philosophical attitudes. It was concluded that the content of the course may include topics related to philosophy, research areas and related disciplines of philosophy and that some points should be taken into consideration while selecting and organizing the subjects. It has been seen that various stimulants, activities and techniques can be used in the learning-teaching process which the practitioner holds an important role in. Finally, three themes emerged in the assessment and evaluation process: students' evaluation, students' self-evaluation, and students' course evaluation. In addition, it has been concluded that process evaluation should be taken as a basis and that the process can be supported by various measurement tools. In line with the results obtained from the research, a needs analysis study that includes many stakeholders in the field of education and the literature can be carried out in order to develop a philosophy course curriculum for children.