Abstract

Philosophy in schools is considered a subject of high impact for strengthening critical and reflective thinking skills. However, despite its recognized value, questions have also been raised about its utility in the educational curriculum, making it a prominent topic in the current educational scene. Therefore, this research aims to explore the perceptions and viewpoints of students in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, regarding how philosophy is taught in classrooms and their considerations about the utility of philosophical knowledge based on teaching methodologies. The authors used a qualitative approach with an ethnographic design and descriptive type; additionally, they employed a using semi-structured interviews to gather insights from 20 student participants belonging to 10 official educational institutions in Barranquilla in the year 2022. Regarding the findings, they indicate that students consider philosophical knowledge to be of little utility due to traditional teaching methodologies that rely on rote memorization, a lack of spaces for reflection, academic dogmatism, and insufficient teacher training in delivering philosophical knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to promote student participation through spaces for discussion and reflection on the applicability of philosophical content in students' daily lives.

Keywords Philosophy; Secondary education; Philosophy teaching; Teaching methodologies; Critical and reflective thinking