The Effects of Receiving Animal Assisted Therapy on the Self-Efficacy and Reading Fluency of Struggling Readers

Thumbnail Image

Files

actionres_Smith_paperSU09.pdf (187.02 KB)

Links to Files

Permanent Link

http://hdl.handle.net/11603/2845

Collections

Goucher College Master of Education

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2009-07

Type of Work

action research papers
Text

Department

Program

Masters of Education

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.

Subjects

Education -- Research papers (Graduate)
DIBELS
Reading to dogs
Reading interventions
Dynamic assessment (Education)
School children -- Books and reading
Fluency (Language learning) -- Study and teaching
Human-animal relationships
Pets -- Therapeutic use
Animals -- Therapeutic use

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of using animal-assisted therapy on the self-efficacy and reading fluency of struggling readers. The measurement tool used was Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Learning Skills (DIBELS) and the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey. This study used a pre-test/post-test design to measure the data collected from both instruments. Achievement gains were shown to be slightly higher in reading fluency for the experimental group shown in the post-test and a slightly less positive attitude towards reading at the end of the study. Research in this area should continue as there is very little information available regarding the use of animal-assisted therapy as a reading intervention.