Grade 2 Children Experience a Classroom-based Animal-assisted Literacy Mentoring Program: An Interpretive Case Study (original) (raw)

Human-Animal Relationships in Literacy Education

Literacy and Numeracy Studies

This paper presents a case for the inclusion of human-animal relationships as a focus for literacy education. It outlines the ways in which language is implicated in human alienation from nature in a modern technology-focused life, and discusses the effects of nature-deficit disorder on human well-being. It calls for an ‘entangled pedagogy’ that attends to stories of local wildlife, and points to the importance of such a pedagogy for particular groups of literacy learners, including international students, new migrants and recent refugees, who may be unfamiliar with the flora and fauna of their new environment. As an example of entangled pedagogy the paper presents ideas for literacy lessons based on the iconic Australian magpie whose relationship with humans is, at times, problematic.

Effects of animal-assisted education on reading with a group of elementary students

2020

Introduction: Animal assisted education (AAE) disseminates the use of animals as pedagogical resource. Dog-assisted reading is the most researched intervention in AAE and its results show improvement in student reading performance in the presence of therapy dogs. Objective: Describe the effects of AAE in reading motivation and performance for a group of 5th graders. Method: The study had the participation of 6 subjects averaging 10.9 years old 2 males and 4 females in a 5th year classroom of a municipal school. The research was experimental, interventional and qualitative. Each subject participated in six 20-minute read aloud sections, the first five with and the last one without the presence of the dog. Before the sessions, the subjects answered the questionnaire about the contact with animals and reading activities and after the sessions, the questions regarding the relation between AAE and reading. The answers were described to construct the individual profiles and the sessions w...

Animal-assisted education: Perception of teachers and parents on the impact of the DOG project

Global journal of ecology, 2024

Introduction: Research regarding Animal-Assisted Education (AAE) is a relatively new fi eld. Due to the growing number of programs in the fi eld, investigating AAE interventions is important. The aim of this study was to gain insight into teachers' and parents'/caregivers' perceptions of the impacts of a specifi c form of Animal-Assisted Service (AAS, formerly Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) namely, an Animal-Assisted Education (AAE) program for primary school students, as offered in the Netherlands. Materials and methods: This study was designed as an exploratory qualitative study, executed by means of interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. Twelve teachers and ten parents/caregivers were interviewed. The analysis started with open coding and was followed by axial and selective coding. Results: There is signifi cant agreement regarding the positive infl uence of AAE on the perception of teachers and parents. Both notice an impact beyond the context of the AAE sessions in the areas of communication, social-emotional development, self-confi dence, and environmental factors. Teachers also note that the AAE project has provided them with insights that infl uence their professional development. Conclusion: It can be cautiously stated that 10 sessions, according to the DOG project, had a positive impact on the social-emotional development of elementary school students according to their parents and teachers. Further research on what AAE means for students is recommended. Considering the unforeseen and impactful outcome of this playful interaction initiative on teachers, it is advised to conduct subsequent research to further explore the underlying mechanisms, aiming to enhance the professional development of teachers.

I do writing on Monday so I can read to the dog": The impact of the classroom canines (TM) program on young children's literacy learning

Research conducted by New, Wilson and Netting (1986) identified that pets are an integral component of the social support network for many individuals with 95% of those surveyed saying that they talk to their pet, 82% identifying that their pet assists them when they are feeling sad and 65% stating that touching their pet makes them feel better. Pets, in particular dogs, have been used in therapy and education situations for a number of years, and their presence has had a number of positive impacts, including helping withdrawn children to talk and participate (Heimlich, 2001), aiding in social and cognitive development of children (Martin and Farnum 2002) and overcoming learning difficulties such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder and Autism (Scott, Haseman and Hammetter 2005). While there is some research about the educational benefits of dogs in the learning environment, (Jenkins, 2010), there is a need for further research about the impact of dogs in th...

Understanding the Influence of Companion Animal on Child Development: a Literature Review

Jurnal Obsesi : Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini

Research on human-animal interaction (HAI) is a brand-new thing in Indonesia. However, it is not widely known that human-animal interactions provides positive effect to child development. The study aims to increase literacy regarding human and animal interaction that also looks at the impacts to child development. This study uses an approach of narrative review that examines and analyzes the selected eight papers. This article investigated some of the following aspects of child development in the social-emotional, cognitive and moral development associate with the interaction between children and companion animals. The analysis shows that aspects of social-emotional development assist children, improving their ability to express emotions and conduct emotional regulation. For cognitive development, helps children while interacting with animals and eases children increasing their biological knowledge about animals and children might learn the cognitive empathy related to Theory of Min...

Guest Editor's Introduction: Animals in Children's Lives

Society & Animals, 1999

In contemporary Western society, nonhuman animals play an extraordinarily salient role in the lives of children. For their first gifts, almost all infants receive soft toys manufactured in the likeness of animals. Throughout childhood, children continue to receive such objects from friends and relatives-the recent cult of the beanie baby providing a suitable case in point. Animal representations liberally decorate the clothes, cribs, strollers, and prams of both babies and toddlers. In a child's room, these same representations tend to appear on wallpaper, curtains, and lampshades. The overwhelming majority of fairytales, fantasies, fables, storybooks, and other literary genres associated with children are either about animals or feature animals as important central characters (Bettleheim, 1976; Tucker, 1989; Johnson, 1996). Animals also predominate in television programs, cartoons, and films, especially those produced for younger children. After all, the entire media and entertainment edifice of the Walt Disney Corporation arose from animated caricatures of mice and has evolved through a veritable bestiary of comic, tragic, and heroic animal characterizations. Real animals occupy an equally prominent position in the child's world. Almost all children enjoy visiting zoos, aquaria, and natural history museums. Documentary films about animals and nature fascinate many children, and almost all, at some time in their lives, will keep companion animals. Market research has demonstrated that pet ownership occurs most frequently in households with children (Messent & Horsfield, 1985). Various studies suggest that over 90 % of children, if they do not already "own" a pet will express-when prompted-a desire to do so (Salomon, 1981; Kidd & Kidd, 1985). Whether child or adult is primarily responsible for promoting this apparent affinity for companion animals is unclear. Survey results indicate that the majority of parents either believe or assume that children benefit in various ways from the company of companion animals. Companion animals may teach a child responsibility, encourage caring attitudes and behavior, provide companionship, security, comfort, amusement, or an outlet for affection. They may promote respect and compassion for animals and nature by offering a child opportunities to learn about

Exploring Animal-Assisted Programs with Children in School and Therapeutic Contexts

Early Childhood Education Journal, 2010

Animal-Assisted programs with children are becoming increasingly popular in school and therapeutic settings. This article provides an overview of the benefits accrued by children as well as the concerns with programs which involve animals, and therapy dogs in particular, in these environments. Research over the past 30 years indicates that therapy dogs may offer physiological, emotional, social, and physical support for children. The distinguishing features of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) are characterized by the supplemental inclusion of a trained therapy dog in reaching an intervention goal in therapeutic environments, and as a supplement to an educational objective in school contexts. The general assumptions underlying AAT with children are that although therapy dogs are interactive, children seem to perceive them as non-judgemental participants who are outside of the complications and expectations of human relationships. This unique interaction may offer children a valuable form of social and emotional support in educational and therapeutic settings.

Analysis of an Animal-Assisted Reading Intervention for Young Adolescents with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities

Teaching students to enjoy reading is important in middle level education; however, middle school students with emotional behavioral disabilities (EBD) frequently struggle with reading skills and frequently display motivational deficits during reading instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine if the presence/absence of a classroom pet dog impacted reading skills in four fifth-grade students with EBD. An alternating treatment design was used to assess the fluency, comprehension, and level of motivation in four students when using a reading intervention package during a dog present (dog and researcher) and a dog absent condition (researcher only). All participants improved reading performance during intervention conditions compared to baseline. Improvements in reading measures were observed across participants in both treatment conditions compared to baseline. Differences in motivation levels were reported in three participants who indicated they enjoyed the dog present condition while the fourth enjoyed both treatment conditions equally. Implications of the potential role of middle level educators pairing themselves with animals during academic interventions for middle school students and other areas for future research in the area of animal-assisted learning are discussed.