Meta-analysis of the effectiveness of teaching philosophy to children on students' cognitive skills

The purpose of the current research was to Meta-analyze the effectiveness of philosophy education on the cognitive skills of Iranian students. The statistical population was the available research related to cognitive and metacognitive interventions on anxiety, available between 2001 and 2021 in the computer databases accessible. Finally, 72 studies with 89 effect sizes were included in the meta-analysis. The research findings showed that the size of the total combined effect (0.99) is evaluated according to Hattie's criterion and based on Cohen's large criterion. Also, in examining the role of moderating variables, the results of favorable effectiveness on each of the cognitive skills: critical thinking, cognitive flexibility, judgment, problem-solving, and questioning were investigated, among which the effectiveness of philosophy education on cognitive flexibility with a summary effect size (1.07) was the highest. Had the amount considering the high effectiveness of philosophy education on cognitive skills in gender groups, it is suggested that this program be added to the official education program in schools by following its principles.
Keywords: Effect Size, Cognitive flexibility, Cognitive Skill, Meta-Analysis, Philosophy for Children.
Introduction
The cognitive skills of children are influenced by teaching philosophy. The program of teaching philosophical thinking to children has clear cognitive goals; it engages the mind and does so through challenges, critical thinking, and structural interaction. (Haynes, 2012). Teaching philosophy to children leads to an increase in cognitive skills related to verbal comprehension, spatial relationships, sound combination, concept formation, and visual-auditory memory, which are within the realm of cognitive functions. Preschool children who receive philosophy education have higher cognitive abilities. (Hassan Beigi, 2021) Numerous studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of teaching philosophy to children on the growth of cognitive skills. Each study has examined the impact of teaching philosophy to children on one of the cognitive growth components, such as critical thinking, moral development, problem-solving, creative thinking, questioning spirit, responsibility, etc. Some of the studies in this field include Kabiri et al. (2022) and Soleimanpouromran et al. (2021). Therefore, the breadth and distribution of research conducted in this area highlight the need for a systematic review of previous research. Accordingly, the present meta-analysis aimed to determine the effect size of the combined effectiveness of implementing the philosophy education program on the growth of various cognitive skills.
Materials & methods
In this study, a meta-analysis method was used based on the purpose and nature of the research. In meta-analysis, the findings of primary studies are translated into a quantitative index. The most common method for combining the numerical results of studies in meta-analyses is effect size. The statistical population included all articles published in scientific research journals, master's theses, and valid doctoral dissertations in computerized databases available in the country between 2001 and 2021, which examined the effectiveness of philosophy education on students' cognitive skills using experimental and quasi-experimental methods. Finally, 122 studies were identified, and based on the exit criteria, 50 studies were excluded, and a total of 72 studies with 89 effect sizes were suitable for entry into the meta-analysis based on the scientific and Methodological conditions of the dependent variable dimensions. In the process of searching for primary studies, keywords such as "philosophy education," "philosophy education using the community of inquiry method," "philosophy education for children," and "p4c" were used in computerized databases available in Iran, such as the Scientific Information Database (SID), the National Journal Database, the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, and the Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc), as well as foreign information databases such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, and PubMed. In this study, the research design specifications checklist developed by Mesr Abadi (2009) was used to collect information. To analyze the data extracted from primary studies, the effect size of the type g was calculated for each study. CMA version 2 and SPSS version 22 were used for calculating effect sizes and subsequent statistical activities related to combining the results.
Result
Table 1 presents the combined effect size (summary) based on two fixed and random models for 77 primary effect sizes. According to the results, the combined effect size values in the fixed model are 0.95, and in the random model, it is 0.99, and both effect sizes are statistically significant. ) p < 0.001).




Table 1. Combined fixed and random effect sizes related to the effectiveness of philosophy education on cognitive skills




Model


Number of effect sizes


Summary  effect size


 
 


95% confidence interval


Z-value


significance level




lower limit


upper limit




fixed


79


0.95


 


0.03


1.02


26/89


0.001




random


79


0.99


 


0.05


1.09


19.26


0.001




 
In Table 2, the effect sizes of the combined effect of teaching philosophy on each of the cognitive skills presented have been provided. The effect sizes of the combined effect of each of the cognitive skills are as follows: 0.97, 0.71, 0.98, 0.81, 0.95, and 0.94, respectively, all of which are significant (p < 0.001). On the other hand, the intragroup Q index is equal to 62.118, of which the intergroup Q index is equal to 37.34 (p < 0.05 and df = 5). The results of this table show that the heterogeneity value between the five groups of primary studies based on cognitive skills is 37.34, and the effect sizes related to the effectiveness of teaching philosophy on cognitive skills can be different and heterogeneous. It should be noted that studies with less than four samples were excluded from this section.




Table 2- Combined effect sizes of the effectiveness of philosophy education on cognitive skills




Cognitive skills


Number of effect sizes


Composite effect size


The standard error


95% confidence interval


Z-value


significance level




Lower limit


Upper limit




Critical Thinking


24


0.97


0.06


0.85


1.09


15.52


0.001




Cognitive flexibility


13


1.07


0.09


0.85


1.25


11.80


0.001




judgment


10


0.98


0.11


0.77


1.22


8.95


0.001




Problem-Solving


8


0.81


0.09


0.62


1.01


8.28


0.001




questioning


4


0.95


0.16


0.84


1.27


5.92


0.001




reasoning


4


0.94


0.16


0.62


1.27


5.67


0.001




 
Discussion
To explain the overall effectiveness of teaching philosophy on the growth of cognitive skills, it can be said that philosophy for children is an educational approach that includes various goals, and practicing and implementing it can lead to the growth of cognitive skills. Lipman, as the founder of Philosophy for Children, considers the most important goal of this program to be the cultivation of individuals' reasoning power so that they can think independently and use criteria of correctness in their judgments. In this program, students are encouraged to actively engage with information rather than just accepting it, to analyze and examine the information and knowledge at hand, and to use this skill to equip students with the ability to make sound judgments and choices, as well as critical thinking skills, ultimately preparing them for a suitable role in society. It is expected that by considering the educational and training reasons for this program and focusing on the cultivation of critical and philosophical thinking, teaching philosophy to students in a comprehensive and national program in schools across the country, apart from the official school curriculum, can help improve the education system.