RAISING SPACES FOR ANIMALS IN THE CURRENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SYSTEM PART 2: AN INVESTIGATION OF ANIMAL-RAISING ENVIRONMENTS OVER TIME

Abstract

 Animals raised in elementary schools are relevant to several subjects in the curriculum, with educational goals such as “life dignity, ” “nature providence, ” and “kindness to animals.” Outside the curriculum, raising animals in schools is increasingly necessary because of changes to children’s social circumstances, such as the decreasing number of siblings and the reduced number of animals being raised at home due to changing house environments. Although the need for raising animals in schools is recognized, more schools are no longer raising animals because of several problems, such as the increased number of children with allergies, the care that is necessary during school holidays, and the severe climate during hot summers.

 The purpose of this study was to suggest animal-raising spaces and their environments in accordance with the present constraints issues in schools. To accomplish this purpose, the study consisted of two parts: the first part aimed to understand the changes that have occurred over time in animal-raising environments and educational goals － a history of raising animals in schools that dates back to the 1900s. The second part aimed to reveal the problems and clarify the space requirements for animal-raising environments in today’s elementary schools through a fieldwork survey, a questionnaire survey, and interviews with teachers.

 Research about changes in animal-raising environments were as follows: an outside hutch for raising animals has been used for a long time, but the way of using the front space of hutch for children to observe animals as well as the outdoor space around the hutches have changed.

 Research about the problems of and requirements for animal-raising environments in current school systems were as follows: many teachers selected “outdoors” as an ideal animal-raising space, but some teachers selected “entrance hall” and “classroom.” Each space has different advantages and disadvantages. It also has a different tendency in the choice of animal species ; that is, there is diversity in the animal-raising environment that schools require.

 These studies show that the animal-raising environment most suitable for the current elementary school system, aiming at the next-generation type, is as follows: it is necessary to prepare variations of raising environments in a school. At the same time, an animal-raising environment and system should be prepared so that schools can ask for and accept the cooperation of regional habitants or animal experts. Through this study, we can suggest various style choices that each school can utilize, depending on their management and educational goals.