EV ZOON: Design, implementation and evaluation of educational activities to raise the awareness of preschool children towards pets
Abstract
According to the curriculum in Greece environmental education in preschool aims, among other things, to develop and cultivate animal welfare consciousness. In the present study we attempt: a) to present the structured activities of the educational program EV ZOON regarding the awareness of preschool children about animal welfare issues and b) to explore the axes on which early childhood teachers base the program’s effectiveness. Τhe program was implemented in four phases. In the fourth phase of the EV ZOON educational program, 21 out of the 135 early childhood teachers who ended up and evaluated the activities, implemented a series of 13 activities. The degree of implementation and the evaluation of the activities by the early childhood teachers were investigated after the end of the activities in a questionnaire that was administered electronically. The results were based on their evaluation of each activity separately on a question about its effectiveness on a Likert scale and on the qualitative analysis of a relevant open-ended question. The results showed that in their evaluation of the activities the early childhood teachers , emphasized: a) the enthusiasm of the students for the heroes of the program and the issues they discussed, b) the extent to which the activities managed to raise awareness about animal abuse, animal rights and cultivation of a sense of responsibility for them, and c) the means of implementation of the activities (duration, target group, etc.). Positive elements emerged for the activities of the program, but the respondents also noted points that made it difficult for teachers and students to implement the activities. Early childhood teachers’ evaluation of the activities of the educational program EV ZOON was a positive sign and contributed to their improvement.
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Μαρκοδημητράκη Μ., Κυπριωτάκη Μ., Λιναρδάκης Μ., Σπανάκη Ε., Καλεσίου Μ., & Ζυμονοπούλου Μ. (2022). EV ZOON: Design, implementation and evaluation of educational activities to raise the awareness of preschool children towards pets. Preschool and Primary Education, 10(1), 99–121. https://doi.org/10.12681/ppej.27768 (Original work published April 29, 2022)
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