Abstract
Therapy dogs in educational settings have gained increase traction in recent years. Despite its potential benefits and popularity, there remain concerns of perceived risks such as sanitation, allergies, and safety issues, as well as a lack of guidelines, regulations and support resources available to school staff. Research is further lacking into the implementation process of therapy dog programs in educational settings. To construct a set of recommendations for school staff to achieve successful implementation of a therapy dog program, the present study investigated the perceived facilitative and impeding factors when implementing a therapy dog program. A total of 13 school staff and 2 coordinators from therapy dog organisations took part in an open-ended online survey and/or a semi-structured interview over the phone, with the aim of gathering their perspectives of implementing a therapy dog program in schools. The thematic analysis of the data indicated facilitative factors such as program flexibility, whole-school support, the need for communication and training for all staff, as well as dog welfare. Successful implementation of therapy dogs in an education setting appear to revolve around (1) flexibility of the dog therapy program to target school's needs, (2) qualities of program instigator, (3) whole-school support, (4) communication, training and education, (5) considerations for dog's welfare. Key barriers identified included a high workload, lack of guidelines on processes, lack of support from the school community, as well as the need for better understanding of the role of a therapy dog. The results highlighted the importance of a whole-school effort when implementing a therapy dog program, as well as the need for guidelines for assessing school readiness, key factors for consideration, and strategies to overcome challenges associated with program implementation.
Highlights
Therapy Dogs and Therapy Dog OrganisationsTherapy dogs in educational settings have gained traction in recent times
Therapy dog organisations in Australia which conduct dog-assisted reading programs include Story Dogs which originated in New South Wales, Delta Classroom CaninesTM from Victoria, and Special Human Animal Relationships in Education
Guides created by Departments of Education tend to focus on animals for teaching, or assistance animals, or visiting animals with brief information emphasising the importance of animal welfare, safety, hygiene, and sanitation procedures when interacting with animals in other contexts rather than extensive guidelines and recommendations for therapy dog program implementation
Summary
Therapy dogs in educational settings have gained traction in recent times. Increasingly, dogs have provided therapeutic support in early education settings, primary and secondary schools, as well as university settings to support students’ well-being, promote a sense of belonging in school, reduce stress and anxiety, and even facilitate learning [1,2,3]. There are ethical issues surrounding animal welfare such as ensuring that the therapy dog’s needs are met in the school setting, is safe, and is not overworked [33] Another barrier to implementing therapy dogs and programs into schools is funding as well as a lack of administrative and staff support. Guides created by Departments of Education tend to focus on animals for teaching (e.g., science lessons), or assistance animals (e.g., guide dogs), or visiting animals with brief information emphasising the importance of animal welfare, safety, hygiene, and sanitation procedures when interacting with animals in other contexts (e.g., school excursions, classroom pets) rather than extensive guidelines and recommendations for therapy dog program implementation. The results of the study informed a set of research-informed recommendations and guidelines outlining key factors for consideration when implementing a therapy dog program in school settings
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