This article is a summary of research carried out on Spanish secondary school students 14 -16 years of age, with the intention of finding out what contributions fieldwork makes toward the understanding of concepts and principles of ecology, and also to ascertain the effects of fieldwork on the defense of the studied ecosystem. Before further research was conducted, an exploratory study was carried out consisting of an initial diagnosis of the pupils' ideas; fieldwork materials were prepared and an ecology unit for the study of a freshwater ecosystem was designed, along with evaluation instruments. The experimental design was given shape thanks to work done with two groups of students on whom a more exhaustive study was performed. The independent variable consisted of a field trip; the dependent variable was the learning of ecological concepts and their application to the assessment of an environmental problem. The study combined qualitative and quantitative research methods. A result of the research work was the conclusion that fieldwork helps clarify ecological concepts and intervenes directly in the development of more favorable attitudes toward the defense of the ecosystem. Both components are seen when making valid judgments for the resolution of problems which negatively affect the ecosystem and for showing the way toward the type of actions and solutions which should be adopted.
This article is a summary of research carried out on Spanish secondary school students 14 -16 years of age, with the intention of finding out what contributions fieldwork makes toward the understanding of concepts and principles of ecology, and also to ascertain the effects of fieldwork on the defense of the studied ecosystem. Before further research was conducted, an exploratory study was carried out consisting of an initial diagnosis of the pupils' ideas; fieldwork materials were prepared and an ecology unit for the study of a freshwater ecosystem was designed, along with evaluation instruments. The experimental design was given shape thanks to work done with two groups of students on whom a more exhaustive study was performed. The independent variable consisted of a field trip; the dependent variable was the learning of ecological concepts and their application to the assessment of an environmental problem. The study combined qualitative and quantitative research methods. A result of the research work was the conclusion that fieldwork helps clarify ecological concepts and intervenes directly in the development of more favorable attitudes toward the defense of the ecosystem. Both components are seen when making valid judgments for the resolution of problems which negatively affect the ecosystem and for showing the way toward the type of actions and solutions which should be adopted.
Resumen. El significado de bienestar animal está adquiriendo gran difusión en nuestra sociedad. En este trabajo hemos desarrollado y validado una escala de actitud hacia el bienestar animal que contempla aspectos como el maltrato de los animales por placer o por desconocimiento, el empleo de animales para el ocio, las situaciones en las que se hallan los animales de granja o el abandono de mascotas. Con este instrumento se ha medido la actitud entre los estudiantes de Primaria y se han obtenido resultados que animan a incluir algunos contenidos relacionados con el bienestar de los animales en las clases de ciencias. De entre las conclusiones más relevantes de esta exploración podemos extraer que a medida que aumentan los cursos, la actitud hacia el bienestar animal es poco a poco más desfavorable, y también que la actitud menos favorable hacia el bienestar animal siempre surge en el componente 2, que trata sobre el ocio con animales. Palabras clave: Bienestar animal; escala de actitudes; estudiantes; Educación Primaria. [en] Development of an attitude scale towards animal welfare for Primary Education students Abstract. Currently, the construct of animal welfare is becoming widespread in society. In this work we have developed and validated a scale of attitudes towards animal welfare which includes aspects such as the abuse of animals for pleasure or ignorance, the use of animals for entertainment, the situations in which farm animals are or the pets abandonment. With this instrument we have measured Primary students' attitude and we have found results that encourage including some animal welfare contents in Science lessons. Among the major conclusions we can see that when the students get higher courses at school, they become their attitude to animal welfare more unfavourable, and also that the less favorable attitude towards animal welfare always arises in component 2, which deals with leisure with animals.
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