Philosophy for Children is working because it is focusing on thinking which is the essence of education. Communities of inquiry are the ways through which training in thinking is done, and they are going to help significantly transform learning. Collective epistemic progress is possible through craftsmanlike thinking leading to better judgments. Certain processes are needed in the Philippines for these communities of inquiry to be firmly in place

This is a chronicle of the development of Philosophy for Children program in Costa Rica. It addresses the projects of some state universities and the pioneer experience of the British School of Costa Rica, which has consistently led the program in the country for 24 years. A general account of the teaching practice is made, referring to matters of evaluation, class settings and teachers' workloads. A comparison between the aims of P4C and the International Baccalaureate programs is also considered as well.

This paper describes a research project assessing the effect on second grade students’ understanding of argumentation that a twelve-week program of weekly philosophy lessons had. The philosophy lessons were taught using popular picture books in the manner employed in my Teaching Children Philosophy program. Compared to a control group of second graders who did not study philosophy, it was demonstrated that the 45-minute weekly philosophy classes led to a significant and sustainable increase in students’ understanding of argumentation.

After more than 25 years of development of Filosofia 3/18 project – Philosophy for Children- in Catalonia, the Superior Assessment Council (Consell Superior d’Avaluació) of the Ministry of Education of the Government of Catalonia (Departament d’Educació de la Generalitat de Catalunya) conducted an external evaluation in order to see the results of the application of this project after so many years. In this report, you will see the results.

Deep personal concern along with querying the issue of Philosophy as a school subject having been moved to the periphery of secondary education form the starting point of this research study. The impression of students’ opinions, as directly implicated in the teaching process led to a series of interesting outcomes. Certain significant findings, among others, include students’ positive attitude towards the subject of Philosophy; acknowledging the necessity for its presence on the school curriculum; recognizing the practical value and contribution of Philosophy on the ethical and intellectual impact on a young individual’s personality; and demonstrating the educator’s pivotal role in the formation of students’ attitudes and opinions.

The proposed paper situates the question about the ‘success’ of the P4C program within the ‘what works’ debate which has taken place in the Anglo-American educational community over the last 15 years. Against this backdrop, the cultural significance of P4C is highlighted and a special focus is devoted to how P4C has changed (or should have changed) the practice of teaching. Finally, the P4C-oriented teaching of disciplines is indicated as a possible promising way out of the current educational predicament marked by the detraditionalization and individualization of knowledge.