From Thinking to Meaning: Rethinking Primary Education in Confronting Children’s Existential Suffering Through the Integration of Meaning-Seeking and Philosophy for Children (P4C)

Abstract

This study aimed to reconsider the relationship among primary education, children’s existential suffering, and meaning-seeking and to develop a conceptual framework that extends Philosophy for Children from cultivating thinking skills to facilitating meaning-making. This fundamental qualitative-theoretical study employed theoretical synthesis and a systematized literature review. Persian and English sources published between 2000 and 2024 were retrieved from credible academic databases and screened according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The theoretical data focused on children’s existential suffering, meaning-seeking, existential education, philosophical dialogue, and the educational capacities of Philosophy for Children. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis method. The analytical process involved repeated reading of the selected texts, comparative examination of theoretical perspectives, coding of key concepts, organization of related concepts into overarching themes, and reconstruction of the relationships among the themes. The extracted themes were subsequently integrated into a conceptual model entitled “From Suffering to Meaning.” Inferential analysis indicated that children’s existential suffering should not be regarded merely as a psychological problem or an obstacle to learning. Experiences such as loss, fear, loneliness, rejection, and injustice may become educational opportunities for meaning formation when they are addressed within a safe, dialogical, and interpretable environment. The proposed “From Suffering to Meaning” model comprised four interrelated components: experiencing existential suffering, expressing the experience through philosophical dialogue, intersubjective interpretation of the experience, and meaning-making accompanied by the development of an existential orientation. The theoretical synthesis further suggested that this process may promote hope, resilience, belonging, responsibility, inner coherence, and intrinsic motivation for learning. Integrating meaning-seeking principles with Philosophy for Children can redirect primary education from an exclusive emphasis on knowledge transmission and cognitive skills toward meaning-centered education. Within this framework, the teacher functions as a “facilitator of meaning” who creates opportunities for children to articulate, discuss, reinterpret, and collectively understand their existential experiences rather than providing predetermined answers.