Dogs in schools: animal-assisted therapy to care for students
Oasis, Pixel, Naya, Platon, and Silou are not new acronyms favored by the French Ministry of Education, but rather the names of five Golden Retrievers that have been present for several years in pilot schools participating in animal-assisted therapy programs.
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier and Laura Nicolas, University of Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)
Although relatively new in schools, this practice has a long history in the medical field, and the presence of animals has proven to be a major asset for people with disabilities or dependency issues, not only on a physical, physiological, and preventive level, but also asa tool for education and socialization.
The current interest in this educational approach highlights the emergence of a new perspective on animals and a different way of thinking about education. This practice of introducing pets into school environments is already showing significant results in terms of student well-being, school climate, and learning.
Benefits for children's social skills
The presence of animals in the classroom is subject to regulations but also to knowledge of animal welfare. In the case of animal-assisted therapy, the animals used are pets and, legally, there is no prohibition in the Education Code concerning their presence in schools.
The law of July 30, 1987 grants access to places where professional, training, or educational activities take place to guide dogs and assistance dogs accompanying persons with disability cards. The law of November 30, 2021, aimed at combating animal abuse and strengthening the bond between animals and humans, makes it possible to conduct experiments in schools, which, as they develop, give rise to an initial institutional framework.
Research on children and animal-assisted therapy by François Beiger, Marine Grandgeorge, and Céline Barrier has demonstrated the benefits of the bond between animals and children. The results of other scientific studies focusing more specifically on the presence of animals in the classroom show that they have a very positive effect on children's well-being and development.
First, pets can help children develop social skills, better manage anxiety, and encourage empathy. By playing with an animal, children learn to care for others and communicate with their peers.
Pets also promote relaxation and concentration in children and help them to better understand their own feelings. Children are encouraged to be more attentive to those around them and to better understand how they feel when interacting with an animal.
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Finally, this type of interaction promotes problem-solving skills. Teachers can incorporate activities involving pets into their school programs to help students succeed and encourage discussion, oral expression, reading, and self-confidence. Animal-assisted therapy can thus be chosen as a guiding principle for learning throughout a project.
Consider the animal's point of view
Regardless of the location and target audience, animal-assisted therapy involves at least three parties: the beneficiary or beneficiaries, the facilitator (often the teacher in a classroom setting), and the animal chosen for its specific qualities related to the context. In most observations, it is the benefits to the beneficiaries that are studied. This anthropocentric view needs to be broadened to consider the well-being of each of the protagonists.
Thanks to a better understanding of the physiological and psychological needs of animals, consideration for their well-being in mediation situations is emerging. Animals are no longer just effective partners in children's development; they are considered for themselves as sentient beings with emotions directly linked to their interactions with children. Adopting this perspective is essential to ensuring positive coexistence and interactions for all.
As a result, the classroom can sometimes be noisy, and the children's demands on the animal may tire and stress it. Teachers should be attentive to signs of discomfort in the animal and provide it with a space to retreat to that the children will respect. Each animal is a unique individual, and this uniqueness should be explored with the children. Beyond general knowledge about the needs of the animal species chosen to share the classroom, it is daily life with the animal that will reveal its character, preferences, and what bothers it.
Marie-Laure Laprade, schoolteacher and president of the association Éducation Éthique Animale(Animal Ethics Education), promotes animal-assisted therapy in schools while issuing a number of recommendations:
"In order for an animal invited into the classroom to thrive, it is crucial to consider the biological and behavioral needs of its species, to know the specific history of that particular individual, and to learn to interpret its expectations, preferences, attitudes, and reactions. This is a real learning process of 'living with'. I therefore have serious reservations about having an animal in the classroom if this project is not carefully prepared in advance, putting both the animal and the students at its center."
Compliance with certain rules and caring attention toward the animal partner are therefore essential conditions for this experience to be beneficial to all, and at the same time pose limits to the widespread adoption of this practice.
To move beyond initial trials while avoiding overly widespread use of this practice, there is a need to train individuals, both teachers and the animals themselves, as is done in some countries. Measures are beginning to be implemented at the academic level.
Sylvain Wagnon, Professor of Education Sciences, Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier and Laura Nicolas, Senior Lecturer in Language Sciences and Education Sciences, University of Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)
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