Three Things to Know
Dog welfare advocates have long believed that educating children is vital for preventing dog bites and promoting responsible dog ownership. However, there’s limited scientific evidence to support this. This study used a questionnaire to investigate the impact of two different Dogs Trust workshops on children’s attitudes towards dogs in the UK.
To assess the impact, researchers divided each workshop’s participants into two groups. One group completed the questionnaire before the workshop, and the other completed it afterward. The results showed that students who completed the questionnaire post-workshop held more positive attitudes towards dogs.
The study also found that age, gender, and socioeconomic status can influence a child’s attitude towards dogs. Importantly, the researchers emphasized that increased knowledge doesn’t always guarantee responsible behavior. Further localized assessments are needed to fully understand the impact of these programs. Despite this, the survey design used in this study offers a cost-effective and efficient method for animal welfare organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of their education initiatives.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners:
Dog welfare organizations often prioritize reporting on the reach of their education initiatives, focusing on metrics like participant numbers, which are easily quantifiable and appealing to many funders. However, funders are increasingly demanding evidence of the actual impact of their investments. This study demonstrates a practical and cost-effective method for organizations of all sizes to address this concern by gathering data on the impact of their education programs, thereby strengthening their funding proposals and demonstrating a return on investment.
The Full Picture
Despite legislation like the UK Animal Welfare Act, animal cruelty remains a concern. Workshop-based education for children is seen as crucial for improving canine welfare by fostering responsible dog ownership. While governments often overlook it, charities invest heavily in these programs, recognizing their potential to shape future attitudes. However, evidence on their impact is limited, which calls for further research.
The Dogs Trust, a leading UK dog welfare charity, runs school-based workshops for children aged 7-11. These workshops aim to instill positive attitudes and promote responsible dog ownership. Aligned with national curriculum standards, they focus on critical thinking and responsibility. This study, “Education as a tool for improving canine welfare: Evaluating the effect of an education workshop on attitudes to responsible dog ownership and canine welfare in a sample of Key Stage 2 children in the United Kingdom”, assesses the impact of these workshops on children’s attitudes towards dog ownership and interaction. It also examines factors like age, gender, dog ownership, and socioeconomic status that may influence outcomes.
Study Methods
Workshops
The Dogs Trust runs two different workshops:
- Be Dog Smart (BDS) workshops aim to: 1) recognize dogs as sentient beings, 2) understand the consequences of their actions on dogs, and 3) think critically and select information based on welfare, rejecting conflicting information from sources like social media.
- Responsible Dog Ownership (RDO) workshops include the three BDS aims, along with promoting responsible dog ownership.
Questionnaire
Researchers developed a questionnaire to evaluate the impact of the Dogs Trust workshops on children’s attitudes. The questionnaire assessed attitudes linked to the five short-term outcomes targeted in the workshops. Socioeconomic status, dog ownership, age, and gender were also recorded as potential confounding factors.
Study Procedure
The study was conducted between May and July 2018, involving twenty Education Officers and 160 classes across the UK. To assess the impact of the workshop, each class was randomly divided into two groups: control (pre-intervention) and treatment (post-intervention).
The questionnaire was administered to the control group before the workshop and to the treatment group after the conclusion of the workshop. Researchers then compared the results from the two groups to identify the impact of the workshop.
Study Results
A total of 2,732 participant responses were analyzed.
Impact of Workshop
Both the Be Dog Smart (BDS) and Responsible Dog Ownership (RDO) workshops demonstrated a significant positive impact on student attitudes. Students who participated in either workshop were more likely to have improved attitudes towards dogs.
- In the BDS program, a student who completed the workshop had a 66% higher chance of scoring better on an attitude assessment compared to a student who did not.
- Similarly, in the RDO program, students who participated had a 64% higher likelihood of having more positive attitudes towards responsible dog ownership.
Additionally, older students, particularly those in Years 5 and 6, generally showed more positive attitudes across both programs.
Other Considerations
Socioeconomic factors, as indicated by free school meal (FSM) utilization, significantly influence outcomes. Groups with higher FSM percentages demonstrated lower attitude scores, suggesting the need for tailored educational approaches that address the specific needs of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Gender also plays a role, with females generally exhibiting higher empathy towards animals and scoring better than males. This highlights the importance of recognizing and addressing the diverse needs and learning styles of all children.
Interestingly, workshops delivered by external educators, such as those from the Dogs Trust, may be more effective than those led by classroom teachers, supporting the value of specialized, single-session programs.
While this study demonstrates positive attitude changes, it’s crucial to remember that dog welfare eduction is complex and these changes do not automatically translate into long-term behavioral shifts. Ongoing, localized assessments are essential to adapt programs to specific audiences and contexts. Still, the cost-effective, minimally disruptive, and scalable methodology employed in this study can be readily adopted by other organizations to enhance their program effectiveness and optimize resource allocation.
Conclusion
This study provides strong evidence that the Dogs Trust education programs effectively communicate key messages about responsible dog ownership. Participants who received the workshops demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes towards dogs compared to those who did not. Furthermore, the study approach serves as a valuable model for assessing the effectiveness of programs delivered by animal welfare organizations worldwide. While the findings are encouraging, further research is crucial to understand the long-term sustainability of these attitude changes and their translation into meaningful behavioral shifts.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
–
Year of Publication:
2020
External Link:
Baatz A, Anderson KL, Casey R, Kyle M, McMillan KM, Upjohn M, et al. (2020) Education as a tool for improving canine welfare: Evaluating the effect of an education workshop on attitudes to responsible dog ownership and canine welfare in a sample of Key Stage 2 children in the United Kingdom. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0230832. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230832