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Researchers need critical thinking skills to do research. Critical thinking skills are gradually inculcated in a person throughout life. The schooling systems in many countries fail to teach children at a young age to think critically. In the 1970s philosophers such as Matthew Lipman and Margaret Sharp developed Philosophy for Children (P4C) as a way of introducing children to philosophising and thinking critically at an early age.
These philosophers based their work on Vygotsky's theory. Vygotsky considers learning through instruction rather than age as a fundamental feature of human intelligence. Vygotsky's theory is important in that it highlights the role played by adults (teachers, parents, educators), peers and others in fostering and enhancing cognitive development in children, through communication, language and social interaction. P4C is essential at an early age in that it has the potential to equip children with reasoning and critical thinking skills. By using this approach, children will have acquired the ability to apply philosophical and critical thinking skills later in life.
P4C can be a useful channel for introducing children to critical thinking within the community of inquiry, namely, the classroom. P4C introduces philosophy and critical thinking as an enjoyable subject for children so that their interest in it can be developed.