Jakub Janczura’s NCN Grant Success!

We have secured an NCN grant!

We are delighted to announce that Jakub Janczura has been awarded a grant from the National Science Centre under the PRELUDIUM 24 competition. The project, titled „Philosophical Inquiry with Children as a Path to Emotional Understanding: On the Significance of the 'Philosophy for Children’ Program,” supervised by Prof. Arkadiusz Gut, will involve comprehensive research aiming to identify the extent to which children’s participation in philosophical discussions about emotions contributes to the development of their emotional knowledge and skills. The Philosophy for Children approach assumes that philosophizing aids children in abstract thinking, argumentation, and the creation of alternative concepts.

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Philosophical Inquiry with Children as a Path to Emotional Understanding
On the Significance of the „Philosophy for Children” Program

• Principal Investigator: Jakub Janczura
• Scientific Supervisor: Prof. Arkadiusz Gut

Philosophy for Children (P4C) is an educational method that engages children in philosophical discussions on topics that stimulate their critical and logical thinking. Developed by Matthew Lipman, this method has gained popularity in over 60 countries. Children participating in philosophical conversations can develop their thinking skills, social openness, and curiosity about the world.

In recent years, a research project has emerged aiming to investigate the impact of philosophical discussions on children regarding their emotional understanding. Researchers want to discover how children’s participation in philosophical conversations can influence their ability to understand emotions and develop cognitive skills, such as reflection and the comprehension of emotional concepts.

This project emphasizes that philosophizing is a cognitive process in which children formulate, consider, and analyze various thoughts and beliefs. The researchers aim to demonstrate how Philosophy for Children can support children’s learning about emotions through educational dialogue. The goal is to develop children’s intellectual abilities, including their understanding of emotions.

Emotional understanding is perceived as a key element of emotional competence, defined as the ability to understand the essence, causes, and consequences of emotions. Its main objective is to enable the child to recognize, explain, and predict emotions, control how they are expressed, and regulate the experience of emotions.

As part of this project, a comprehensive study is being conducted to identify the extent to which children’s participation in philosophical discussions about emotions contributes to the development of their emotional knowledge and skills. Philosophy for Children assumes that philosophizing helps children in abstract thinking, argumentation, and creating alternative concepts.

Research into the influence of philosophical discussions on children and their understanding of emotions has the potential to bring many benefits. By participating in such discussions, children develop emotional skills, e.g., they learn to better understand their own emotions and those of others, and they learn about the nature of mixed emotions and self-regulation. Furthermore, philosophical conversations require logical thinking, analysis, and argumentation, leading to the development of critical thinking skills. Additionally, children engage in active communication, which strengthens their communication skills. All of this contributes to the children’s holistic emotional, intellectual, and social development.