The effects of a humane education curriculum, involving The Great Ape Project, on the attitudes of fourth grade students

grantor: University of TorontoAn experiment with a group of thirty-four fourth grade students in a private school was evaluated. A Humane Education unit of study, focusing on human and animal rights, was devised and facilitated by the teacher-researcher during class as part of the Social and Environmental Studies curriculum. This unit included the philosophies and perspectives of The Great Ape Project, an initiative that seeks to accord rights to apes. The experiment focused on changes in students' attitudes as a result of being exposed to the treatment (unit). Data was obtained through interviews, attitude scales, students' journals, teacher's journal, and written assignments. Statistical analysis of the attitude scales confirmed the experimental hypothesis that the humane education curriculum changed the attitudes of the fourth grade students in this study. Also, this change was proven to be stable over time, and the students' journals, interviews, and written assignments support the statistical findings. This experiment design is the first to expose junior students to the ideas and philosophies of The Great Ape Project.M.A