Thinking and Children

Thinking and Children

The Effectiveness of the Philosophy for Children program on Moral Judgment, Social Skills, and Behavioral Problems of Multi-Grade Students

Articles in Press

Document Type : Scientific- research

Authors
Abolghasem Yaghoobi 1
Afshin Afzali 2
Hossein Bajolvand 3
1 Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina, University, Hamadan, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina, University, Hamadan, Iran..
3 Master of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran.
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Philosophy for Children (P4C) program on the moral judgment, social skills, and behavioral problems of students in multi-grade classrooms. This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test-post-test control group design. The population consisted of all elementary school students in multi-grade classrooms in Dorud County during the 1402 - 1403 academic year. A sample of  students was selected using a two-stage cluster sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental (n=18) and control (n=19) groups. Data were collected using a moral judgment test and a scale measuring social skills and behavioral problems. The experimental group received 10 sessions of P4C instruction using culturally relevant content. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance and the non-parametric Quade test in SPSS version 29. Findings revealed that P4C significantly improved moral judgment, social skills, and its components. Additionally, the intervention significantly reduced Externalizing and Hyperactive Behavioral Problems but did not significantly affect Internalizing problems.
Keywords: Philosophy for Children, Multi-Grade classroom, Moral Judgment, Social skills, Behavioral problems.
Introduction
To enable individuals to adapt more effectively to the societies in which they live, it is necessary for them to acquire a range of skills (Jelen, 2008). This, in turn, requires educational processes that cultivate children’s capacities for thinking, reasoning, judgment, and communication. In this regard, one of the fundamental concerns of contemporary education systems is the moral education of children (Khademi & Mehrevali, 2015). One of the key outcomes of moral education is the development of moral judgment (Erfani, 2018). Moral judgment refers to the extent to which an individual considers a specific behavior to be morally acceptable (Yaghoobi & Bayat, 2016) and denotes the ability to make morally justifiable decisions based on ethical values and norms, reflecting a process-oriented approach (Kim & Park, 2019). Piaget conceptualized moral judgment as a process dependent on cognitive development, emerging through children’s active interaction with their environment and becoming more sophisticated with increasing age (Piaget, 1932, cited in Khakpour & Mehrafarid, 2012). In contrast, Vygotsky emphasized the role of social interaction, arguing that what a child can accomplish today through cooperation with others, they will be able to perform independently tomorrow (Vygotsky, cited in Karimi, 2015a). Bandura further challenged Piaget’s stage-based perspective by demonstrating that exposure to behavioral models can accelerate moral development and moral judgment, thereby diminishing rigid boundaries between developmental stages (Bandura & McDonald, 1963). Taken together, these perspectives highlight the central role of peer interaction, observational learning, and the intentional design of educational environments in fostering children’s moral judgment. Within this context, the Philosophy for Children (P4C) program, grounded in the Socratic tradition and structured around the formation of a community of inquiry, provides a learning environment in which students develop higher-order thinking, reflective moral judgment, and social skills through interaction, collective reasoning, and engagement with diverse perspectives (Lipman, 1991; Kennedy, 2010). Research has shown that this program can positively influence moral judgment, social skills, and the reduction of behavioral problems; however, most existing studies have been conducted in single-grade classrooms, and its effectiveness in multigrade classrooms—characterized by age and gender diversity—has received limited attention. This is despite theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that interaction within heterogeneous groups can offer richer opportunities for social, moral, and behavioral learning (Haynes, 2002; Cen et al., 2014).
Materials & Methods
The present study was applied in terms of purpose and employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest control group. The statistical population consisted of all students enrolled in multigrade classrooms at the second cycle of primary education (Grades 4, 5, and 6) in schools of Dorud County during the 1402–1403 academic year. Multigrade schools with fewer than 15 students in the target grades were excluded from the study. From the remaining eligible multigrade schools, two multigrade classes comprising 18 and 19 students (experimental and control groups, respectively), including Grades 4, 5, and 6 within a single classroom, were selected using a two-stage cluster sampling method. In the first stage, one rural district of Dorud County was randomly selected, and in the second stage, two eligible multigrade classes were randomly chosen from the villages within that district. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance and the non-parametric Quade test in SPSS version 29.
Data collection instruments included the Moral Judgment Test and the Social Skills Rating System. Following the administration of the pretest to both groups, participants in the experimental group received (P4C) instruction over ten 45-minute sessions (one session per week), while no instructional intervention was provided for the control group. At the conclusion of the intervention period, a posttest was administered to both groups. As previously noted, the content of the instructional sessions was developed based on prior qualitative research aimed at the cultural adaptation and localization of the P4C program stories.
Discussion & Result
Based on the results of the tests for normality, homogeneity of variances, and homogeneity of regression slopes, the assumptions of parametric analysis were met for the variables of moral judgment and social skills. However, the behavioral problem components namely Externalizing behaviors, Internalizing behaviors, and Hyperactivity did not meet the assumptions required for analysis of covariance and were therefore examined using nonparametric tests. The findings indicated that implementation of the Philosophy for Children program led to a statistically significant increase in moral judgment among students in multigrade classrooms compared with the control group (p < .01), with a large effect size accounting for 59% of the variance. In addition, P4C instruction had a significant positive effect on students social skills, with meaningful increases observed in Cooperation (33%), Assertion (43%), and Self-Control (54%) (p < .01). In the domain of behavioral problems, the program resulted in significant reductions in Externalizing behaviors and Hyperactivity (p < .01); however, no statistically significant effect was found for Internalizing behaviors (p > .05).
Conclusion
Overall, the results of this study indicate that the Philosophy for Children program, when implemented purposefully through philosophical inquiry communities in multigrade classrooms, can serve as an effective educational approach for promoting students’ moral, social, and behavioral development. The age- and gender-heterogeneous environment of multigrade classrooms does not function automatically; rather, in interaction with the dialogic and participatory pedagogy of P4C, it provides a context in which students are able to reconsider their moral reasoning, practice social skills, and replace impulsive and aggressive reactions with more adaptive behaviors.
The multigrade classroom represents a potential capacity whose realization depends on deliberate, structured, and philosophically grounded intervention. Within this framework, P4C bridges thinking and action by guiding students away from superficial, outcome-based judgments toward principled, reflective, and responsible moral reasoning.
At the same time, the lack of a significant effect on reducing internalizing problems indicates that short-term educational interventions, even when cognitively and socially enriched, are insufficient to modify internalized emotional difficulties such as anxiety and depression. This finding underscores the need for longer-term, more intensive, and multi-level interventions that incorporate family involvement and broader environmental support.
Overall, Philosophy for Children in multigrade classrooms can be regarded as an innovative and transformative approach in education, with the potential to foster students’ holistic development, provided that its implementation is grounded in meaningful interactions, critical dialogue, and the intentional design of the learning environment.
 
Keywords
Philosophy for Children, Multi-Grade classroom, Moral Judgment, Social skills, Behavioral problems
Subjects
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Thinking and Children

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 09 February 2026

  • Receive Date 20 September 2024
  • Revise Date 24 January 2026
  • Accept Date 25 January 2026
  • Publish Date 09 February 2026