Children Reading to Dogs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

BackgroundDespite growing interest in the value of human-animal interactions (HAI) to human mental and physical health the quality of the evidence on which postulated benefits from animals to human psychological health are based is often unclear. To date there exist no systematic reviews on the effects of HAI in educational settings specifically focussing on the perceived benefits to children of reading to dogs. With rising popularity and implementation of these programmes in schools, it is essential that the evidence base exploring the pedagogic value of these initiatives is well documented.MethodsUsing PRISMA guidelines we systematically investigated the literature reporting the pedagogic effects of reading to dogs. Because research in this area is in the early stages of scientific enquiry we adopted broad inclusion criteria, accepting all reports which discussed measurable effects related to the topic that were written in English. Multiple online databases were searched during January-March 2015; grey literature searches were also conducted. The search results which met the inclusion criteria were evaluated, and discussed, in relation to the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine levels of evidence; 27 papers were classified as Level 5, 13 as Level 4, 7 as Level 2c and 1 as Level 2b.ConclusionThe evidence suggests that reading to a dog may have a beneficial effect on a number of behavioural processes which contribute to a positive effect on the environment in which reading is practiced, leading to improved reading performance. However, the evidence base on which these inferences are made is of low quality. There is a clear need for the use of higher quality research methodologies and the inclusion of appropriate controls in order to draw causal inferences on whether or how reading to dogs may benefit children’s reading practices. The mechanisms for any effect remain a matter of conjecture.

Companion Animals and Child/Adolescent Development: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

“…So far, no research has investigated the impact of pets on later adolescent educational outcomes. The support of pets in children’s learning process is also demonstrated in research involving classroom animals with respect to reading skills [35,36], social functioning and academic competence [37], emotional stability within school and attitudes towards school [76]. The evidence base is strongest for dogs; the presence of a dog in the classroom has been shown to help children exercise better cognitive executive functions and perform better academically [77].…”

“…Melson [9] stated that for many children, companion animals are likely to be powerful motivators for learning, perhaps due to children learning and retaining more about subjects they are more emotionally invested in, and due to learning being optimized when it occurs within meaningful relationships. The presence of animals has been shown to elicit immediate positive effects in testing situations of cognition such as memory, categorization and attention [29,30,31,32,33,34] and studies on language, literacy, and reading ability have also shown a similar positive influence of animal presence [35,36,37]. It has been speculated that animal interaction may provide opportunities to improve cognitive Executive Functions (EFs) (mental processes that form the basis for planning, attention, memory and self-control) through stress reduction and social support which in turn can affect behaviour and improve academic outcomes [38].…”

A Systematic Review of Research on Pet Ownership and Animal Interactions among Older Adults

“…Therefore, our goal is to provide an overview and critical evaluation of existing work on PO and AAI in older adults, and discuss the risks and benefits associated with each. In so doing, we present the results of a systematic review of the literature following PRISMA guidelines (Moher et al, 2009) and evaluate the quality of that work using a modified version of the Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine (OCEBM) levels (Howick et al, 2011) following the approach taken by Hall et al (2016).…”

Animal-assisted Therapy for the Emotional Well-being of Children with Intellectual Disabilities and Behavioral Disorders

“…Beck and Katcher [13] stated that "animals can induce a state of immediate relaxation, psychologically reassuring, simply by attracting and holding our attention." Evidence suggests that a dog in the classroom can have beneficial effects in a series of behavioral processes that contribute to a positive effect on the environment, which translates into better performance by children [14].…”