Assisted education with dogs: pedagogical applications in educational contexts

Abstract

This article constitutes a review about the Animal Assisted Education (AAE) field, mainly, the use with dogs trained to work in educational contexts, and the impacts generated from the results of its application in pedagogical and psychoeducational processes. Thus, the main objective of this research was to conduct a review of the scope of the strategies of the Assisted Education with dogs as an alternative methodology to work the resolution of different problems that arise in this context, besides highlighting the psychopedagogical benefits that are generated as a result of the incorporation of this methodology in the classrooms. The proposal has a qualitative design that uses the methodology of documentary research, which implies a previous review about conducted studies on the subject. In terms of the main findings evidenced in the research reviewed, it was found that the integration of educational strategies assisted with dogs in school environments generates a positive impact related to self-esteem, motivation, confidence and confidence, socialization and mood of the students, to facilitate the externalization of feelings (both positive and negative) in situations aimed at cooperative learning and their participation in the classroom, achieving greater attention and interaction with the environment and better emotional control in the classroom, decreasing, thus, negative feelings such as depression, anxiety, boredom and loneliness. Additionally, it could be shown that the incorporation of a dog in the classroom tends to encourage students a greater interest in reading, improving the use of their working memory and a significant increase in the use of their vocabulary. Some of the limitations evidenced in the documentary review are related to a high ignorance of these strategies, due to the little incorporation and recognition of this tool as an alternative method to the traditional intervention of educational and social problems. However, the extensive evidence of the demonstrated effectiveness in its applications in population diversity with organic, mental or psychosocial pathology, it has allowed its application to be extended to various educational scenarios, demonstrating satisfactory results in the processes developed within the classrooms.