Preliminary Study on the Knowledge of Junior High School Students About Japanese Macaques:Recommendations for Science Education at Monkey Parks

Abstract

Japanese macaques at "monkey parks" are suitable as subject animals for science education because they are of great interest to students due to their physical and behavioral resemblances, and they are one of the most familiar wild animals to people in Japan. In order to know (1) the basic understanding / misunderstanding of students about Japanese macaques and (2) what kinds of facts are easy / difficult to understand merely by observation, I conducted a questionnaire survey about Japanese macaques for junior high school students visiting the Takasakiyama Natural Zoo. Four questions on Japanese macaques (tail length, female body mass, litter size and how to take foods) were asked of students who had observed macaques directly (group B) and those who had not (group A). For tail length and female body mass, the correct answer rates of group B were signi.cantly higher than those of group A, whereas the correct answer rates for litter size and how to take foods did not show a significant difference between the two groups. It is suggested that in conducting science education at monkey parks, educators should (1) investigate the basic knowledge of students on Japanese macaques and (2) design appropriate programs to introduce any facts according to the obviousness of these facts to students. This is especially so when introducing facts that cannot be visually demonstrated. In these instances educators must present scienti.c knowledge to students in inventive,"hands on"ways.