Short-Term Effects Of Dogs In The Classroom

In many European schools, teachers have been taking dogs into their classrooms, using them as subjects in the lesson and as ways to calm students and help them perform better. Many studies have been done on the concept of dogs in the classroom and their effect on students. During one study researchers found that a dog in the classroom improved empathy, field independence, and social climate among the students (Hergovich et al., 2002). In a classroom with children who had emotional disorders, it was observed that the dog had a positive effect on empathy, emotional stability, and attitude towards learning and respect (Anderson and Olson, 2006). A few studies on the short-term effects of dogs in the classroom saw that preschoolers did tasks faster,

Beetz states, “In contrast to the control class, children in the dog-class significantly improved in their positive attitude toward school and their emotions related to learning” (2013). In those same areas that the dog-class improved in, the control class saw a decline. In Germany, fourth grade academic achievement greatly affects a student’s future school career so the end of third grade adds more stress. This explains why the control class decreased in those areas. School becomes very stressful at the end of third grade. The schooldog-teacher-team was able to stop negative development and positively increase school-related attitudes and emotions (Beetz 2013). However, the schooldog-teacher-team does not affect depression or emotion regulation strategies. Beetz concludes that positive moods and attitudes are essential for social and cognitive learning, and the schooldog-teacher-team may have the ability to support learning and educational goals (2013). The schooldog-teacher-team has a definite benefit in

As a child enters school, it is important that they succeed. Not only will it help them feel good about themselves, but it will help them with future learning and in future stages of development. Dr. Andrea Beetz’s study discovered that the schooldog-teacher-team affects the students so they have positive attitudes and emotions about school and learning. Therefore, because of that positivity, the students are more likely to learn and succeed in school. Then they will successfully pass on through this stage in their development and succeed more in life. The study found that there are benefits to the schooldog-teacher-team in classrooms.

References

Anderson, J. L., and Olson, M. R. (2006). The value of a dog in a classroom of children with severe emotional disorders. Anthrozoös 19, 35–49. doi: 10.2752/089279306785593919

Beetz, A. (2013). Socio-emotional correlates of a schooldog-teacher-team. Frontiers in

Psycology, 4. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ fpsyg.2013.00886/full#h1

Gee, N. R., Church, M. T., and Altobelli, C. L. (2010a). Preschoolers make fewer errors on an object categorization task in the presence of a dog. Anthrozoös 23, 223–230. doi:

10.2752/175303710X12750451258896

Gee, N. R., Crist, E. N., and Carr, D. N. (2010b). Preschool children require fewer instructional prompts to perform a memory task in the presence