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Peer-reviewed article

Evaluating Children's Conservation Biology Learning at the Zoo

March 29, 2014 | Public Programs, Exhibitions
Millions of children visit zoos every year with parents or schools to encounter wildlife firsthand. Public conservation education is a requirement for membership in professional zoo associations. However, in recent years zoos have been criticized for failing to educate the public on conservation issues and related biological concepts, such as animal adaptation to habitats. I used matched pre- and postvisit mixed methods questionnaires to investigate the educational value of zoo visits for children aged 7–15 years. The questionnaires gathered qualitative data from these individuals, including zoo-related thoughts and an annotated drawing of a habitat. A content analysis of these qualitative data produced the quantitative data reported in this article. I evaluated the relative learning outcomes of educator-guided and unguided zoo visits at London Zoo, both in terms of learning about conservation biology (measured by annotated drawings) and changing attitudes toward wildlife conservation (measured using thought-listing data). Forty-one percent of educator-guided visits and 34% of unguided visits resulted in conservation biology-related learning. Negative changes in children's understanding of animals and their habitats were more prevalent in unguided zoo visits. Overall, my results show the potential educational value of visiting zoos for children. However, they also suggest that zoos’ standard unguided interpretive materials are insufficient for achieving the best outcomes for visiting children. These results support a theoretical model of conservation biology learning that frames conservation educators as toolmakers who develop conceptual resources to enhance children's understanding of science.

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  • DSC 3392
    Author
    University of Warwick
  • Citation

    DOI : 10.1111/cobi.12263
    Publication Name: Conservation Biology
    Volume: 28
    Number: 4
    Page Number: 1004-1011
    Resource Type: Research Products
    Discipline: Ecology, forestry, and agriculture | Life science
    Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Middle School Children (11-13) | Youth/Teen (up to 17) | Museum/ISE Professionals | Evaluators
    Environment Type: Public Programs | Aquarium and Zoo Programs | Exhibitions | Aquarium and Zoo Exhibits

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