The Role of Animal-Assisted Intervention in Supporting the Preschool-to-School Transition

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AbstractThe transition from preschool to school is a significant milestone in a child’s life, and the experiences gained during this period have a long-term impact not only on learning outcomes but also on the relationship with school and teachers. Starting school is exciting and filled with anticipation for young children; at the same time, it is also a source of stress that they may struggle to manage properly without support. Our one-group pretest–posttest study aimed to promote the preschool-to-school transition with animal-assisted intervention to reduce anxiety in children entering school. The intervention, which lasted for 24 weeks, involved using of a specially trained therapy rabbit in a classroom setting with the participation of 16 first-grade children. During the periods supported by animal-assisted intervention, there was a greater decrease in anxiety levels for both state and trait anxiety than in weeks when the therapeutic animal was not present in the classroom (p = 0.006; p = 0.02). The anxiety reduction was more pronounced in children who exhibited higher levels of anxiety in the initial measurements (p = 0.037). The results of our study demonstrate for the first time that animal-assisted intervention (especially animal-assisted pedagogy) can be effectively applied in supporting the preschool-to-school transition, especially for children with higher anxiety levels.