Η κυρίαρχη αντίληψη για τα μη ανθρώπινα ζώα ως αντικείμενο εκμετάλλευσης στα σχολικά εγχειρίδια του μαθήματος Μελέτη Περιβάλλοντος

Abstract

The article examines the correlation between education and the prevailing perception that treats non-human animals as subject of exploitation, through the content analysis of the textbooks used in the “Study of the Environment” course, which is taught in the Greek primary schools. In the theoretical part, we explicate the reasons why speciesism is another form of discrimination, we present the latest theories that challenge the prevailing social perception of non-human animals and we review the role of education. In the research part, we examine if the content of the textbooks of the “Study of the Environment” course reproduces speciesism and the prevailing perception of non-human animals. The research data analysis showed that the textbooks perpetuate speciesism and the view of animal exploitation and show various aspects of this exploitation, that the depiction of the living conditions of farm animals does not correspond to reality, that children are encouraged to use animals in various ways and that no other way of perceiving animals is projected beyond the socially dominant one.