The Role of P4C Practices in Sustainability and Environmental Awareness Among Middle School Students

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of Philosophy for Children (P4C) practices on middle school students’ sustainability and environmental awareness. While the literature highlights the positive effects of P4C in areas such as democratic culture and moral reasoning, the dimension of environmental ethics has received relatively little attention. A quasi-experimental design was employed in this study, involving 58 fifth-grade students from the Bursa province. Sustainability-themed P4C sessions were conducted over three months, and environmental awareness was measured using the Environmental Awareness Scale. The analysis utilized the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test. The findings revealed a significant increase in environmental awareness scores following the P4C intervention (Z = -6.36; p < 0.001; r = 0.86). P4C demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing students’ sustainability awareness, creating a transformative impact—particularly among socio-economically disadvantaged groups. Given the complexity of the environmental crisis, it is recommended that educational models based on philosophical inquiry be implemented from an early age.

Keywords

• Philosophy for Children
• Critical thinking
• Sustainability
• Environmental awareness
• Middle school students

P4C Uygulamalarının Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Sürdürülebilirlik ve Çevre Bilinci Üzerindeki Rolü

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Çocuklar için Felsefe (P4C) uygulamalarının ortaokul öğrencilerinin sürdürülebilirliği ve çevresel farkındalığı üzerindeki etkisini araştırmaktadır. Literatür, demokratik kültür ve ahlaki akıl yürütme gibi alanlarda P4C'nin olumlu etkilerini vurgulasa da, çevresel etik boyutu nispeten az dikkat çekmiştir. Bu çalışmada Bursa eyaletinden 58 beşinci sınıf öğrencisini içeren yarı-deneysel bir tasarım kullanıldı. Sürdürülebilirlik temalı P4C oturumları üç ay boyunca gerçekleştirildi ve çevresel farkındalık Çevresel Farkındalık Ölçeği kullanılarak ölçülmüştür. Analiz, Wilcoxon imzalı rütbe testi, Mann-Whitney U testi ve Kruskal-Wallis H testini kullandı. Bulgular, P4C müdahalesinin ardından çevresel farkındalık puanlarında önemli bir artış ortaya koydu (Z = -6,36; p < 0,001; r = 0,86). P4C, öğrencilerin sürdürülebilirlik farkındalığını artırmada etkili olduğunu gösterdi ve özellikle sosyo-ekonomik olarak dezavantajlı gruplar arasında dönüştürücü bir etki yarattı. Çevresel krizinin karmaşıklığı göz önüne alındığında, felsefi sorgulamaya dayalı eğitim modellerinin erken yaşlardan itibaren uygulanması önerilmektedir.

Keywords

• Çocuklar için felsefe
• Eleştirel Düşünme
• Sürdürülebilirlik
• Çevre farkındalığı
• Ortaokul öğrencileri

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