The effect of breeding animals on the preschool children\u27s attitude towards them

Gojenje živali v vrtcu otrokom omogoča številne neposredne izkušnje z njimi. Z neposredno izkušnjo si otrok oblikuje realne predstave o živalih, kar pripomore k pozitivnemu odnosu do njih. Ob vsakodnevni skrbi se otrok čustveno naveže na živali in s tem premaga morebitne predsodke. Obenem pridobiva tudi znanje o njih, ki je močno povezano z odnosom, saj podrobneje spoznava njihove življenjske potrebe in procese, kot so prehranjevanje, rast in razvoj, razmnoževanje ter presnavljanje. V mojem diplomskem delu sem raziskovala vpliv gojenja na spremembo odnosa do živali in znanja o njih. Izbrala sem si živali: mokarja, deževnika in navadno krastačo, do katerih imajo otroci in tudi odrasli pogosto negativna občutja in predsodke. Uporabila sem kvazi eksperiment s kontrolno in eksperimentalno skupino. V vsaki skupini je bilo 19 otrok, starih 5–6 let. Z individualnim intervjujem, ki je vseboval 9 vprašanj, sem s prvim delom dobila vpogled v otrokov odnos do živali. V začetku intervjuja sem ugotavljala odziv otroka ob neposrednem stiku z živaljo. Žival sem mu ponudila v dlani, ga ob tem posnela z video kamero in na podlagi 5-stopenjske ocenjevalne lestvice ocenila stopnjo negativnih občutij do živali. Z drugim delom intervjuja pa sem dobila vpogled v otrokovo znanje o živalih. Začetni intervju sem opravila v obeh skupinah. Nato so otroci eksperimentalne skupine izvedli projekt gojenja in spoznavanja mokarja, deževnika in navadno krastačo. Cilj projekta je bil otrokom ob gojenju omogočiti neposredne pozitivne izkušnje z živalmi in pridobivanje znanja o njih z različnimi vzporednimi dejavnostmi v povezavi z ostalimi področji kurikuluma. Spoznavali so njihove življenjske potrebe, telesne značilnosti, bivališče, prehranjevanje in razmnoževanje. V kontrolni skupini otroci dejavnosti projekta niso izvajali. Po končanem projektu sem enak intervju ponovno izvedla v obeh skupinah. Dobljene rezultate sem kvantitativno analizirala in primerjala ter ugotovila, kako so dejavnosti v eksperimentalni skupini vplivale na spremembo odnosa do živali in znanja o njih. Rezultate opazovanj otrok pa sem obdelala kvalitativno. Rezultati začetnih intervjujev so pokazali, da je imela več kot polovica otrok obeh skupin negativna občutja do mokarja, deževnika in navadne krastače. Največ otrok se živali ni želelo niti dotakniti. Njihovo znanje o njih pa je bilo precej površno in pomanjkljivo. Po opravljenih dejavnostih se je odnos do živali v eksperimentalni skupini bistveno spremenil in izboljšal. Večina otrok ni več pokazala negativnih občutij in brez težav sprejela žival v dlani. Prav tako so se pokazale razlike v znanju, saj v končnih intervjujih nepravilnih odgovorov ni bilo več. Rezultati končnih intervjujev v kontrolni skupini se niso bistveno razlikovali od rezultatov začetnih intervjujev. Raziskavo zaključujem z ugotovitvijo, da je z gojenjem živali mogoče vplivati na oblikovanje pozitivnega odnosa do njih pri otroku. Vendar mora gojenje vključevati neposredne pozitivne izkušnje z živalmi in pridobivanje znanja o njih, ki otroku daje podlago za razumevanje živali in preprečuje napačne predstave o njih.Breeding animals in the kindergarten enables children to have a direct experience with them. A child creates a realistic imagery about animals, which contributes to a positive attitude towards living beings. In everyday care, child is emotionally attached to the animal, and thus overcomes the prejudice. At the same time children acquire knowledge of animals, which is closely related to the relationship. They learn about life\u27s needs and processes, such as eating, growth, reproduction, and metabolism. In my diploma thesis, I researched the effect of breeding on the change of attitude towards animals and knowledge about them. I chose three animal specimens: a flour beetle, an earthworm, and a toad, to which children and adults often have negative feelings and prejudice. In the research, a quasi-experiment with a control and an experimental group was used. In each group, there were 19 children, aged from 5 to 6 years. In the first part of an individual interview with 9 questions, I got an insight into the child\u27s attitude towards animals. First, I determined the child\u27s response in a direct contact with the animal. I offered him an animal in the palm of the hand while recording with a video camera. I assessed the child\u27s level of negative feelings on the basis of a 5-point rating scale. With the answers in the second part of the interview, I found out child\u27s knowledge about animals. The initial interviewing was conducted in both groups. Afterwards, the experimental group conducted a project of breeding and learning about flour beetles, earthworms, and toads. The goal of the project was to give children a direct positive experience with animals and learning through different parallel activities in conjunction with other areas of the curriculum. They learned about animal life needs, physical characteristics, habitation, eating, and reproduction. In the control group, none of the project activities took place. At the end of the breeding and learning project, the same kind of an interview was repeated in both groups. A quantitative analysis and comparison of the results showed how the activities in the experimental group influenced the change in child\u27s attitude towards animals and the knowledge of them. I processed the results of the observations qualitatively. The results of the initial interviews showed that more than a half of children had negative feelings towards the flour beetle, the earthworm, and the toad before the project activities. The majority of children did not want to touch them and their knowledge was insufficient and faulty. After implemented activities, their relationship and knowledge have significantly changed and improved. The majority of children easily took the animal in the palm and did not show any negative feelings. Differences in knowledge about animals were also revealed because wrong answers no longer appeared in the interviews. The results of the final interviews in the control group did not differ much from those in the initial ones. I conclude the research with the finding that breeding of animals can influence the formation of a positive child\u27s attitude towards animals. But it has to include a direct positive experience and some acquisition of knowledge which gives the child a basis for understanding animals and prevents them from misconceptions about them