Current pupil attitudes and perceptions and a framework for the future.

Abstract

The last ten years have seen a great deal of discussion about the use of animals in education. The aim of this paper will be to summarise current pupil attitudes and perceptions, and to provide an ethical framework within which the use of animals in education can be examined. In many countries the recent years have seen a considerable reduction in the use of animals in school science education (Reiss and Beaney, 1992). Whole animal dissection has become significantly less common within the last decade. It is, for example, now required by none of the Examining Boards in the UK, even for advanced level biology. Part of the reason for such changes has been a shift in the perceptions by many pupils and students, and some teachers, about the appropriateness of the use of animals in schools. Recent work by Roger Lock and Katherine Millett has shown how strong are pupil views against animal experimentation and the use of animals in schools (Lock and Millett, 1992; Millett and Lock, 1992). For instance the majority of 14-15 year-olds disagreed with the statement 'New medicines should be tested on animals before they are taken by humans'. Similarly, the majority of these pupils agreed with the statement 'I think that it is wrong to breed animals that will only be used for dissection'.