Attitudes of primary school students toward working with animals

Številni otroci in odrasli imajo zaradi vzgoje, pomanjkanja izkušenj in znanja, napačnih informacij iz medijev ter vse večje odtujenosti od narave veliko zmotnih predstav in negativnih stališč oziroma predsodkov do živali. Zato je pomembno, da učencem omogočimo, da žival spoznajo in se tako učijo iz lastnih izkušenj. Učitelj ima pri tem pomembno vlogo, saj lahko s svojim zgledom in pravilnim pristopom pri učencih predsodke prepozna in jim pomaga, da jih odpravijo. V magistrski nalogi smo raziskali, kakšna so stališča učencev četrtega in petega razreda do dela z živalmi pri pouku in stališča do treh izbranih živali. Izbrali smo dve živali, ki v učencih vzbujata manj prijetna čustva (strah, gnus), in eno, ki sodi med ljube živali. Navezovali smo se na že opravljene raziskave na področju odnosa in stališč učencev do živali. V teoretičnem delu najprej predstavimo izkustveno učenje in stališča ter predsodke do živali, ki jih lahko opazimo pri učencih v predšolskem in osnovnošolskem obdobju. Podrobneje predstavimo čustvi strahu in gnusa, ki se pogosto pojavita skupaj z negativnimi stališči do živali. Za preverjanje stališč učencev smo uporabili vprašalnik, ki je temeljil na uporabi 5-stopenjske Likertove lestvice. Ugotovili smo, da so imele na stališča učencev največji vpliv predhodne neposredne izkušnje. Z učenjem naravoslovnih vsebin z izkušnjo učenci izboljšajo odnos do žive in nežive narave, postanejo bolj spoštljivi, omogočimo pa jim tudi pridobivanje realnih predstav. Poleg tega lahko z neposrednimi izkušnjami lažje odpravimo predsodke in vplivamo na spreminjanje stališč. Pomembno je, da neposredne izkušnje podkrepimo s primernimi zgledi, ki so ključni pri odpravljanju predsodkov in napačnih predstav. Rezultati opravljene raziskave lahko služijo kot podlaga za nadaljnjo raziskovanje tega področja. Poleg tega pa lahko raziskava pomaga učiteljem pri načrtovanju in oblikovanju aktivnosti oz. dejavnosti za učence, saj jim predstavi izkustveno učenje ter pogoste predsodke in stališča učencev četrtega in petega razreda.Many children and adults have many misconceptions and negative attitudes or prejudices towards animals due to their upbringing, lack of experience and knowledge, incorrect information from the media, and growing alienation from nature. Therefore, it is important to enable students to get to know the animal and thus learn from their own experiences. The teacher has an important role in this, as he can identify prejudices in students and can help to eliminate them with his example and the right approach. In the master\u27s thesis, we investigated the attitudes of fourth and fifth-grade students towards working with animals in the classroom and the attitudes towards three selected animals. We chose two animals that arouse less pleasant emotions (fear, disgust) in students and one that belongs to the beloved animals. We related to the research already done in the field of students\u27 relations and opinions towards animals. In the theoretical part, we first present experiential learning and attitudes and prejudices towards animals that can be observed in students in preschool and primary school. We present in more detail the emotions of fear and disgust that often occur along with negative attitudes toward animals. A questionnaire based on the use of a 5-point Likert scale was used to check student\u27s opinions. We found that previous direct experiences had the greatest impact on student\u27s opinions. By learning science content and with experiences, students improve their attitude towards living and non-living nature, become more respectful, and we also enable them to acquire realistic ideas. In addition, direct experience can help to eliminate prejudices and influence changing attitudes. It is important to back up direct experiences with appropriate examples, which are crucial in eliminating prejudices and misconceptions. The results of the research can serve as a basis for further research in this area. In addition, research can help teachers in planning and designing activities or. activities for students by introducing them to experiential learning and the frequent prejudices and attitudes of fourth and fifth-grade students