Children’s Opinions about Zoos: A Study of Portuguese and Spanish Pupils

Almeida, António; Fernández, Beatriz García; Strecht-Ribeiro, Orlando

doi:10.1080/08927936.2017.1335108

Cited by 11 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The approach used to develop the LeTiS scale avoids problems identified by other researchers regarding the use of the term “science,” which may be unfamiliar to young children (Oppermann et al, 2018; Reid, 2014), and too many possible answers, which may make it difficult for the child to choose (Almeida et al, 2017). Additionally, the pictographic format of the items, not employed in any of the few scales available for pre‐elementary students, helps the interviewee understand the process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This design may facilitate following a trend in children's attitudes. Not including the word “science,” since this term has not been properly conceptualized in all young children, and replacing it with specific science activities in nonformal contexts to be performed during leisure time. Applied through an interview using a pictorial format for the items, to facilitate the interview process with young children. The response format should also be suitable for children in this developmental stage, considering that previous research on children older than 8 found that they have difficulty interpreting formats with more than three response options (Almeida, García, & Strecht‐Ribeiro, 2017). Although including four or five options may offer better psychometric properties, we decided to employ three options in order to facilitate children's responses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Paños

Ruiz-Gallardo

2020

J Res Sci Teach

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Attitude toward science has been recognized as highly influential in students' engagement with science and future career choices. Science is important in our everyday lives as well, in a society demanding more scientific vocations and higher levels of scientific literacy. There is little research on how attitudes develop and evolve at early ages, which may be due to a lack of appropriate measurement tools. The objective of this study is to design and validate a tool to measure attitude toward informal science in 5 to 6‐year‐old children, who are not yet familiarized with “formal science.” Rather, these children are constantly interacting and learning about their surrounding world. These early experiences are important for future science engagement. The Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS) scale consists of eight pictures representing science learning activities in informal environments. Children's intentions of performing the activities shown in the LeTiS pictures are measured by comparing them with other leisure nonscientific activities. We also analyze parents' views on their children's leisure interests for comparison. The relationship among attitudes, intentions, and interests is also analyzed as part of this study involving 387 children and 188 parents. LeTiS is a pictographic scale, which is easy to interpret, with reliable psychometric properties, Oω = .88, and a unidimensional factorial structure. The results show that participants, aged 5–6, have a very positive attitude, with no gender‐based differences. Nevertheless, their intentions to perform the activities are less promising, as nonscientific activities are consistently the first choice. Although parents' views report considerable science interest in their children, there is a low correlation with attitudes and intentions. The findings may offer clues on the relationship between children's attitudes toward science and their actual behavior. The study may also contribute to planning science curriculum in the early educational years.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Paños

Ruiz-Gallardo

2020

J Res Sci Teach

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“…Despite the fact that empathy towards animals appears to play a significant role in determining how animals are treated (Colombo et al, 2016), visitors regard "animal welfare" as an important aspect for their overall satisfaction (Lee, 2015). Indeed, research has shown that special attention is given by visitors to aspects related to animal welfare in zoos (Almeida et al, 2017). All the same, many destinations are demonstrating growing concern for the impacts of tourism and activities on animal welfare (Sheppard & Fennell, 2019).…”

Section: Animals In Zoosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tourists' perceptions of non‐human species in zoos: An animal rights perspective

Christou

Nikiforou

2021

Journal of Tourism Research

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This qualitative study aims to reveal tourists' perceptions of non-human species in zoos while adopting an animal rights perspective. Study findings indicate that tourists are concerned about the well-being of animals that are kept in zoos and conceive that animals in zoos are distressed and "unhappy". Yet, they value the outcome of their zoo experience and interaction with animals, thus continue to visit zoos for leisure/educational purposes. The study's findings enable the conceptualisation of zoos, their societal impact, tourists' concerns about animals kept in zoos and the need of tourism stakeholders to transform zoos.

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“…Além disso, para que os mesmos funcionem com qualidade, faz-se necessário entender os anseios e preocupações do público visitante, de modo que mantenha a conservação ambiental, o que, consequentemente, exige planejamento e gestão dessa área (BARRETOS;GUIMARÃES;OLIVEIRA, 2009;BARRETO et al, 2019). É de extrema importância a EA em zoológicos, uma vez que que eles atraem um número grande de visitantes em todo o mundo e possuem um alto potencial para a sensibilização ambiental (ALMEIDA; FERNÁNDEZ; educação ambiental STRECHT-RIBEIRO, 2017). Assim, a realização de ações de EA em zoológicos pode promover o diálogo e a aprendizagem acerca do meio ambiente, a inclusão social dos visitantes e momentos de descontração e alegria, além de estimular o conhecimento sobre a vegetação e os animais presentes no local (FISCHER et al, 2017;RANCURA et al, 2016).…”

Section: Educação Ambiental Introduçãounclassified

A Educação Ambiental no contexto de um parque ecológico no interior de São Paulo

et al. 2020

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A Educação Ambiental (EA) proporciona uma consciência crítica quanto à preservação do meio ambiente. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo verificar a percepção acerca de um parque ecológico junto aos seus funcionários e visitantes, bem como sensibilizar quanto a preservação ambiental. Foram realizadas entrevistas de forma aleatória aos funcionários (n=9) e visitantes (n=30), além de uma ação de EA com visitantes (n=13). A avaliação do local foi positiva, porém sendo citada possível melhora na gestão e infraestrutura. A ação de EA foi considerada importante para conscientização acerca do meio ambiente. Os resultados deste estudo podem auxiliar no desenvolvimento de ações de EA, além de ajudar na gestão do parque.

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Children’s Opinions about Zoos: A Study of Portuguese and Spanish Pupils

Cited by 11 publications

References 24 publications

Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Attitude toward informal science in the early years and development of Leisure Time in Science (LeTiS), a pictographic scale

Tourists' perceptions of non‐human species in zoos: An animal rights perspective

A Educação Ambiental no contexto de um parque ecológico no interior de São Paulo

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