Children’s wellbeing and reading engagement: the impact of reading to dogs in a Scottish Primary 1 classroom

Reading to Dogs as a form of animal‐assisted education: are positive outcomes supported by quality research?

“…While improved rigour is evident in recent years (Connell et al, 2019; Kirnan et al, 2016, 2018; Lewis & Nicholas, 2018; Rousseau & Tardif‐Williams, 2019; Steel, 2023; Syrnyk et al, 2022), several concerns remain (Rodriguez et al, 2021). These include a lack of quality measures (and/or failure to clearly specify measures), small sample sizes, the absence of control groups, and a failure to specify methods and intervention parameters such as setting, animal type, extent of animal involvement, participant demographics and goal of the AAI, across interventions and studies (Beetz, 2017; Brelsford et al, 2017; Gee et al, 2017; Hall et al, 2016; Rodriguez et al, 2021; Steel, 2022). Except for a few studies that have adopted both large sample sizes and control/comparison groups (Kirnan et al, 2016; Lewis & Nicholas, 2018; Steel, 2023 [all mixed methods]; Connell et al, 2019; Kirnan et al, 2018; Le Roux et al, 2014 [all quantitative methods]), the field lacks robust systematic evaluation.…”

“…Historically, where participant details are included, they often incorporated groups with particular reading difficulties or diagnosed conditions such as autism (see Table 3) (Lewis & Grigg, 2020; O'Haire et al, 2014), rather than typically developing children (Kirnan et al, 2018), potentially limiting much of the evidence base for positive effects to these environments, and conditions, when AAE/RTD may also be beneficial to other groups (Gee et al, 2017; Kirnan et al, 2016). However, many recent studies include participants of all abilities (Connell et al, 2019; Kirnan et al, 2016; Levinson et al, 2017; Linder et al, 2018; Steel, 2022, 2023; Syrnyk et al, 2022), although detailed demographic data are not always gathered.…”

“…Similarly, the dog handler may have an important impact on the success of RTD, and therefore, handler demographics should be reported too (Reilly et al, 2020; Steel, 2023). Interventions themselves are still often not fully described and/or most involve a child reading to a dog with no additional resources, with the exception of Smith's (2009), Steel's (2022, 2023) and Kirnan et al's (2016, 2018) studies. Finally, while growing adoption of high‐quality measures is evident, the range of measures still varies considerably, making it difficult to compare findings.…”

“…Of the remaining studies that evaluated affect and found benefits, some were qualitative ( n = 4) and included the following: Canelo's (2020) study, which reported improved attitudes, confidence, reading self‐concept and concentration and reduced anxiety; Henderson et al's (2020) study, which reported improved confidence and attitudes; Noble and Holt's (2018) study, which reported increased engagement, confidence and willingness; and Steel's (2022) study, which reported increased feelings of happiness, enjoyment and confidence. Some quantitative studies ( n = 2) reported improvements too, including Uccheddu et al's (2019) study, which reported improved motivation and attitudes, and Heyer and Beetz's (2014) study, which reported increased enjoyment of learning.…”

“…RTD is an animal-assisted intervention (AAI), which, when employed within a school context with structured goals, is considered a form of animal-assisted education (AAE) (International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations [IAHAIO], 2018). RTD can be defined as a child, or a group of children, reading to a registered dog selected for this purpose (Steel, 2022(Steel, , 2023Steel et al, 2021) and accompanied by a handler. Reported benefits of RTD include increased well-being, such as calm and feelings of happiness, and improved reading affect (reduced reading anxiety and improved reading confidence and attitudes), which are collectively thought to lead to an improved learning environment and positive associations with reading and, in time, improved reading skill (Brelsford et al, 2017;Hall et al, 2016;Steel, 2022Steel, , 2023Steel et al, 2021).…”