Effectiveness of a school-based programme of animal-assisted humane education in Hong Kong for the promotion of social and emotional learning: A quasi-experimental pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Humane education, which focuses on the cultivation of kindness and empathy towards animals, the environment, and fellow humans, helps children to be less egocentric and more sensitive to the human-animal interaction in ecology. AIM: This study aimed to evaluate an animal-assisted, school-based humane education programme that promotes a humane attitude and enhances social-emotional competence for children in Hong Kong. METHOD: A sequential mixed-methods formative evaluation was adopted in the pilot year of the programme. A controlled trial and focus groups were conducted to evaluate the preliminary outcomes and process of the programme and to identify the implementation obstacles and effective strategies. One hundred and ten primary three students from two primary schools participated in the study (55 in the intervention group and 55 in the control group with ordinary formal school extra-curricular activities). Paired sample t tests and a mixed ANOVA were conducted to explore the changes in students' social-emotional competence in our programme and two typical extra-curricular school programmes. Thematic analysis was conducted to categorise the transcriptions from the focus groups. RESULTS: Quantitative findings indicated that class-based, animal-assisted humane education increased cognitive competence (t[24] = 2.42, p = .02), empathy (t[24] = 2.94, p < .01), and reduced hyperactivity (t[23] = -2.40, p = .02). Further analysis indicated that the participant recruitment strategies moderate the impact of interventions on the development of empathy (F[2,104] = 4.11, p = .02) and cognitive competence (F[2,104] = 2.96, p = .05). Qualitative analysis suggested three major themes: enhancement of self-control, promotion of humane attitude, and improvement of reading skills. CONCLUSION: The preliminary results of this pilot study indicate positive effects of the programme. Vigorous systematic formative evaluation on the process and effective implementation should be included in future follow-up studies to ensure its sustainability and fidelity.

Companion Animal Ownership and Human Well-Being in a Metropolis-The Case of Hong Kong.

Global urbanization has given cause for a re-assessment of the nature and importance of the relationship between humans and domesticated animals. In densely-populated urban societies, where loneliness and alienation can be prevalent, the use of animals as human companions has taken on heightened importance. Hong Kong is the world's most urbanised political entity, and thus provides an ideal context for the exploration of the role of animals in the provision of companionship for human beings in cities. A web-based survey with descriptive analyses, regression, and ANOVA was conducted. Six-hundred-and-forty-seven companion animal owners and 312 non-owners completed the survey that examined their socio-demographic information, companion animal ownership status, and physical-psychosocial well-being. The statistically significant findings appear to suggest that socio-demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, housing, and education level) have stronger predictive values than companion animal ownership status with respect to the well-being of people in Hong Kong. Due the unique environmental features in Hong Kong, the positive impacts of companion animal ownership on the physical well-being of owners may be limited by the city's cramped living space and the limited number of people who own companion animals. However, results suggested that companion animals may still serve as a social lubricant between the owners and their significant others, thereby playing a heightened role significant role in enhancing general social connectedness in a metropolis. Given the importance of animals as human companions, it is suggested that relevant administrative agencies need to consider the development of policies and facilities which are conducive to both the maintenance and development of the bonds between humans and their companion animals and the physical and psychosocial health of both.