The effect of teaching1 philosophy to children on general health and anxiety among the middle school students in Tehran2

Purpose: This study was conducted aimed at investigating the effect of teaching philosophy to children on general health and anxiety among middle school students. Methodology: This was an applied study in terms of purpose and a quasi-experimental one, with a pre-test and a post-test and control and experimental groups, in terms of data collection method. The statistical population included the middle school students in District 5 of Tehran during the period 2009-20103, and the sample size was 30 subjects. Subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Sampling was performed using the convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were the Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire and the Spitzerchr’s Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire. The experimental group participated in 8 sessions of a 60-minute philosophy training course that was based on the "Philosophy Lesson plans for Children". Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Findings: The results’ Showed that teaching philosophy to children had a positive effect on their general health and anxiety. Conclusion: large part of people’s success in teaching philosophy to children depends on the general health of students. Students cannot learn logical concepts until they have high mental health.