Mary Allen
A Canadian study suggests that children tend to read more in the presence of dogs.
The fact that many children are already handling tablets, smartphones, and the like every day as a result of digital change has also led to the offspring dealing with books relatively less frequently and for shorter periods. Camille Rousseau, a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia, and Christine Tardif-Williams, a professor at Brock University (Department of Child and Adolescent Studies) have now made an exciting attempt.
“Our study aimed to find out whether a child would be motivated to read longer and persevere through moderately difficult passages when accompanied by a dog,” Rousseau said. The behavior of 17 children from the first to the third school grades, who were selected based on their ability to read independently, was examined.
The experiment showed that children were significantly more motivated to read further texts as soon as they read to a dog. “In addition, the children reported feeling more interested and competent (in the presence of dogs),” says Rousseau. With her research, the Canadian wants to contribute to the development of animal-based educational approaches that significantly improve the reading and learning skills of students.