SUIS Pudong is a local curriculum primary school in Shanghai.  It received its 4Cs School award in May 2018

The four-dimensional goals of P4C are consistent with  the educational objectives of our campus, all of which aim at the cultivation of students’ lifelong abilities, including solidarity and cooperation, caring and mutual assistance, creativity and critical thinking.

P4C can give students more opportunities to think, dare to query, discuss, enhance their ability of thinking and rise to the height of philosophy, which is not possible with subject courses.

P4C activities have made a series of positive changes for both teachers and students. Teachers begin to adjust their educational concepts, take students as the center and become “guides”. Students turn from passive learning to active learning, and gradually master the 4Cs thinking pattern. These changes are positive for both students and teachers.

We have been suffering from the drawbacks of traditional didactic teaching. The use of P4C enables students to improve their thinking in the process, internalize some knowledge and ideas. When faced with problems, children can be more proactive to analyze and judge, or to collaborate, both in and out of school, which has won the parents’ acknowledgement and praise.

The award evaluation stated that:

SUIS Pudong started P4C in 2014, and has had an officially established practice since 2015.   Over 20 teachers having done Foundation training including all the homeroom teachers.  Three teachers completed Advanced Facilitation training in Sheffield in 2017.  P4C is timetabled weekly in all classes across KS1 and KS2.  

The school shows a strong commitment with the Principal having incorporated P4C into the curriculum and allocating time and money to the training and support of the teachers.  P4C China trainer, Cindy Zheng provides monthly practice support sessions and the school participates in regular group meetings to share practice with other P4C schools.  

The school has a clear strategic rationale for engaging with P4C in that it supports the school’s educational objectives which aim at the cultivation of students’ lifelong abilities, including solidarity and cooperation, caring and mutual assistance, creativity and critical thinking.  These are well aligned with the 4Cs of P4C thinking and values. The impact of P4C is already starting to be seen as teaching and learning moves away from a didactic model to one that uses more dialogue and questioning.  Parents have welcomed this change.