Dogs in the Hall: A Case Study of Affective Skill Development in an Urban Veterinary Program

Abstract

High school agriculture teachers often incorporate live animals into the curriculum to enhance educational experiences, increase student interest, and motivate students to learn about animal topics (Phipps, Osborne, Dyer, & Ball, 2008). As a component of classroom instruction, livestock or companion animals may be housed at a school and routinely used as a teaching aid (Talbert, Vaughn, & Croom, 2005). Live animals have provided opportunities for students to develop career skills, including caring for and safely handling the animals as well as managing an animal production operation. Beyond the classroom, students can also develop animal–related skills through livestock exhibition programs, supervised agricultural experience projects, and work–based learning programs (Bailey, Hughes, & Moore, 2004;Robinson & Haynes, 2011). While agriculture teachers utilize animals to enhance teaching and learning, the social and emotional benefits of regular animal interaction has not been well documented for high school students.