All 8 first-grade classes of an elementary school participated in a study of the efficacy of an inclass humane education program that incorporated regular visits from therapy animals. Th e study also investigated the relative efficacy of a popular, printed humane-education publication, although it was not possible to use this printed material in its optimal manner. Th e in-class humane-education program-but not the printed material-significantly increased students' self-reported attitudes toward nonhuman animals as compared to those of students who did not participate in the program. However, neither the in-class program nor the printed material affected student scores on another, self-report measure of interactions with one's nonhuman animal companions. Th erefore, the results suggest that such an in-class approach can change young students' attitudes toward animals for the better; not surprisingly, actual interactions with one's pets may be somewhat less tractable.
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