Browsing by Author "Järvenpää, Linda"

School dogs have been the subject of recent media attention and their numbers appear to be on the rise. The purpose of this study was to find out what kind of experiences Finnish teachers using dog assisted pedagogy have on the method. The aim was also to compare the experiences of Finnish teachers with the findings of earlier studies on the impact of school dogs in the classroom environment. The study is a qualitative master's thesis, and was carried out as an interview study. The research material consisted of interviews with three teachers in the Helsinki metropolitan area. All of the teachers had years of experience with teaching and also had been using dog assisted pedagogy for quite some time. All of them had at least one officially tested and trained dog to assist them in the classroom. The data analysis was carried out as a theory-driven content analysis. The results of this study were largely in line with the previous studies. The study found, among other things, that the presence of the dog in the class reduces pupils' behavioral problems and aggressive behavior, smooths emotional reactions and increases school satisfaction. The findings of this study supported the conclusion already drawn in previous studies that school dogs can have positive effects in the classroom environment. However, the study also raised concerns about the future of dog-assisted pedagogy. The interviewed teachers saw a threat in that not all dogs entering the school were officially tested or that the teachers were not trained to use the method in question.