Primary ethics : Literature review

[Extract] The review looks at predominantly empirical studies assessing the effectiveness and/or impact of ethical reasoning programs delivered in the school context, as well as a representation of broader philosophy for children and community of inquiry programs. The area of philosophy in schools is a large field with connections to the disciplinary communities of philosophy, education and even some domain specific fields (such as literacy and language instruction). The twofold purpose of this literature review is to provide an account of findings from empirical research on philosophy for children and community of inquiry approaches being used in educational settings, as well as to identify emergent trends in research design relevant to the further study of P4C and COI programs. The review is largely descriptive to allow for connections to be made across methodologies, methods, concepts, areas of inquiry and schools of thought. Dominant findings and themes across the literature are discussed as well as an examination of how these have been approached through varying research designs.