Meet the Sofia @ School educational project

With the aim of cultivating critical perception and familiarizing children with the philosophical way of thinking, the Philosophy - Politics - Economics Laboratory of the Philosophy School of the University of Athens (PPE Lab) designed the innovative program "Sofia@School". It is a cycle of eleven modular lessons, complementary to the syllabus of the 4th grade students.

Sofia@School is a standardized and certified method for teaching philosophy to Primary school students. Sofia@School was designed as an interactive, playful learning experience, with extensive use of multimedia. It combines digital technology and innovative means: original animations, gamification, digital game-based learning, and processes of step-by-step familiarization with complex philosophical concepts of Logic and Ethics. These means encourage the active participation of students. They capture their attention while stimulating mechanisms for deeper learning and understanding. Sofia@School teaches children to think, to question creatively, and to critically evaluate beliefs and values

Sofia@School departs from the static teaching of Philosophy that often makes it difficult to understand at an early age. It does not use conventional methods (e.g. study of written texts, note-taking, copying, memorisation, etc.). It makes use of the modern achievements of pedagogical science in order to effectively stimulate children's curiosity, inviting them to participate in the educational process through play and entertainment.

It is accepted that the familiarization of children with critical thinking is a prerequisite for their complete intellectual development and, in the long run, for the development of active citizens. These citizens have the theoretical skills to contribute to social progress by participating in the shaping of the social, political and even legislative framework, with critical thinking and the ability to rationally evaluate choices and decisions.

With Sofia@School program, children in the 4th grade will be introduced to the basic concepts - and especially the general perspective - of Philosophy. Sofia@School focuses on awakening critical reflection around issues explored by Logic and Ethics as fundamental branches of Philosophy.

The digital educational material of the Sofia@School Program is directly and freely accessible to children, parents and teachers through a special database, which will be supported by the digital infrastructure of the Laboratory "Philosophy-Politics-Economics of the University of Athens (www.ppelab.gr).

The Sofia@School project was developed by the Laboratory "Philosophy-Politics-Economics" of the School of Philosophy of the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens, which submitted a proposal to the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (ELIDEK). A total of 340 proposals were submitted by university institutions and research centers in the thematic section "Research & Innovation Hubs in Education". Of these, 19 were finally approved. The "Sofia@School" project was approved, ranking 9th. It was therefore funded by the ELIDEK. Through the Program, the teaching of Philosophy in Primary Education has been implemented for the first time in Greece on such a large scale.

In 2023, the research component of the innovative project "Sofia@School" was successfully completed with the participation of 262 students from five collaborating private and public primary schools in Athens and the Greek Periphery. A total of 121 teaching hours were completed.

Following the successful launch of or method in Greece in 2024, Sofia is now ready to fly to English speaking schools all over the world!