SAPERE’s work has been put through rigorous independent research (see below). In addition to this we collect case studies and testimonials from teachers and pupils that feeds into our theory of change, and shows that our work impacts on the problems we have identified. We also have long-term assessment and monitoring in schools in place as part of our SAPERE Awards for schools. We have qualitative and quantitative feedback on our training and impact on pupils, teachers and schools, including parental messages and Ofsted reports such as this one from a SAPERE Award school:
“[the school] have designed a curriculum underpinned by pupils thinking philosophically. This approach encourages pupils to ask questions, justify opinions and challenge each other. The curriculum is planned and sequenced with high ambition. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They teach key vocabulary and present ‘essential questions’ to ensure that knowledge is clearly defined. Pupils learn facts and extend their understanding through philosophical debate.”
Addressing Educational Disadvantage
In one of the first large controlled studies of its kind, two researchers at the University of Dundee (Trickey and Topping 2007) researched the impact of P4C, as done by SAPERE, and showed that collaborative philosophical enquiry was associated with better cognitive and metacognitive skills in the intervention group. The data showed that this was particularly significant for children who were socially disadvantaged. The control group did not gain in any aspect.
They completed a two-year follow-up to this research and “the significant pre-post cognitive ability gains in the experimental group in primary school were maintained towards the end of their second year of secondary school …The control group showed an insignificant but persistent deterioration in scores from pre- to post-test to follow-up.
“The study provides evidence of maintained cognitive gains from collaborative philosophical inquiry, transferred across contexts.”
In 2015 SAPERE took part in the Educational Endowment Foundations’s (EEF) large-scale randomised controlled trials to see if SAPERE P4C impacted on children’s attainment in maths and literacy. The results showed free school meal children who took part made 4 months additional progress in reading, 3 months’ in maths and 2 months in writing.
The EEF carry out research across a range of initiatives, and their meta-analysis of interventions that improve learning for disadvantaged children include the development of metacognition and self-regulation giving pupils 7 months additional progress, oral language interventions (communication and language initiatives in EYFS) add 6 months progress and those that develop collaborative learning add 5 months progress to disadvantaged children’s learning. Philosophical enquiry develops all these skills.
Non-Cognitive Benefits, mental health and well-being
The Trickey and Topping report also showed that children in intervention groups reported increased self-esteem and showed evidence of ‘significant reduction in dependency and anxiety and of greater self-confidence’, particularly for girls (Trickey & Topping 2006, p. 599).
In the EEF’s follow-up research in 2021 found Teachers felt P4C had positively impacted on a range of pupils’ social competencies, but most notably their respect for other pupils’ opinions (96% of teachers), their ability to question and reason (91% of teachers) and their ability to express views clearly (93% of teachers). 89% of teachers agreed that P4C had positively impacted on listening skills.
Where schools were implementing P4C, teachers and pupils found it enjoyable, engaging and that it encouraged pupils to share opinions in a non-judgmental way, finding it particularly beneficial for English as an Additional Language pupils, those who lacked confidence or Special Educational Needs pupils.
In 2021 Siddiqui and Gorard (EEF researchers 2015) carried out further research into SAPERE P4C and the results showed that P4C benefits self-esteem, self-confidence, active classroom engagement, enjoyment in learning, critical thinking, creativity, commitment, social-communication skills, social-emotional attitudes and motivation to learn.” The post-intervention comparisons show that pupils who received the P4C intervention were ahead of their counterparts in the comparison schools, and this was generally more so for those pupils live in relative poverty (free school meal-eligible children).
The latest systematic literature review taking in research around the world (Ab Wahab et al 2022) showed improvements in higher-order thinking skills and impact on citizenship, where young people are confident to provide their thinking without being judged, developing mutual respect and tolerance and an increase in social justice – being able to empathise with marginalised groups. The review also showed improvements in affective skills and classroom behaviour, and a culture of thinking that permeate not just the class but the school / learning environment as well.
Finally, the review showed that philosophy for children helped children engage with their learning, which could be vital in the crisis we are facing in absenteeism currently, and helped students with their emotional understanding and stress – an important area schools are having to deal with in light of the mental health crisis in young people. Two recent meta-analyses (Mahmoudi 2020; Yan et al. 2018) of worldwide research corroborate that P4C and similar programmes can be cognitively and emotionally beneficial for many children in schools across many cultures.
Teacher development and retention
Children are our primary beneficiaries, but we also consider the impact we have on teachers to be of equal importance – one teacher can impact the lives of many children, and philosophical enquiry has benefits for teachers’ pedagogy, their relationship with their students and their own reflective abilities, which can help them in their own lives. We have been told that our training is “more beneficial than the whole of my teacher training”. And senior leaders have seen it transform teachers: “During this process they have now become one of the strongest, most reflective and impactful members of the teaching staff.” Teachers who learn how to facilitate philosophical enquiry become more reflective in their teaching and their lives, and many stay in the profession longer because “the impact is phenomenal.”