Animal Assisted Education (AAE) – Methods from Building Relationships to Reading

Animal Assisted Education (AAE) has been recognized for its role in fostering the development of nonverbal communication and insight during early childhood, as children experience how their actions can influence the behavior of animals they live with. This type of education not only supports emotional development but also aids in character education. In everyday life, animals often support children’s education in various ways. Among these, Animal Assisted Education is defined as educators setting objectives, developing lesson plans involving animals, and evaluating the results.

At JAHA, Animal Assisted Education often takes place during life science classes for first and second graders, with programs like “Let’s Make Friends with Dogs.” These programs focus on educating children to prevent accidents involving dogs. They start with teaching greetings to the dog owners, demonstrating interactions with dogs, and allowing children to experience proper ways of interacting with animals without vilifying them. Surveys are conducted both before and after the sessions to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning.

Moreover, activities such as “Reading with Dogs” are gradually becoming more popular in places like libraries. In these activities, children read aloud to dogs, which helps increase their reading skills and motivation. This practice, known as “The Reading Education Assistance Dogs” program overseas, was also found to be effective in supporting reading in a study targeting South African children published in 2014.

What kind of study?

A comparative study of reading aloud was conducted in South Africa with elementary school students divided into 4 groups.

A reading program lasting 10 weeks was conducted for 102 third-grade students in South Africa, divided into four groups: “dogs,” “adult humans,” “stuffed animals,” and a control group with no intervention. Prior to the start of the program, there were no significant differences in abilities between the groups. However, immediately after the program and again 8 weeks later, the “dog group” scored higher than the other groups in all categories of “reading speed,” “accuracy,” and “comprehension.” This indicates that reading aloud to dogs has a positive effect on improving reading skills.

Differences between Visitation Animal Therapy and Facility Dogs

The CAPP activities conducted by our organization, JAHA, involve visitation activities with companion animals living with their owners (volunteers). On the other hand, facility dogs, such as the famous Bailey, work exclusively in facilities, which could be literally translated as “facility dogs,” and they work in hospital wards. These dogs are carefully selected from pedigrees in Australia, trained at educational institutions in Hawaii, and further trained by handlers who are nurses before working in hospitals alongside medical staff in Japan.

While this is an excellent initiative, it’s a fact that the training and implementation of such dogs incur significant costs. Facility dogs perform invaluable work commensurate with their compensation, so it would be great to see more of them in the future. However, the current reality is that hospitals with specially trained dogs and medical personnel handlers are still scarce in Japan.

In contrast, visitation animal therapy involves animals that happily live in homes and participate in activities. Of course, the animals must have suitable temperaments, and their owners, who are also handlers, must pass assessments. The activity time per day is about 40-50 minutes, typically occurring once a month to once a week. Since these animals don’t work every day, participation can be adjusted according to each individual’s schedule.

About Antigenne

Antigenne, holding the banner of enjoying living together with animals and protecting the health both of animals and humans, is dedicated to building a harmonious society for humans and animals. Insisting on the values of innovation, honesty and integrity, sticking to the principle of “quality is the cornerstone of future existence.” through innovative products and dimensional services, Antigenne is looking forward to cooperating with you and expecting to create a bright future with a win-win result.  Together, we can make a difference. Contact Antigenne now and let’s unlock the future of animal health.