My Research Agenda
On this page, I will be presenting research articles that have guided my own research on implementing dogs in the classroom. All of these studies conducted research tailored to proving that dogs are a beneficial aspect to students' academic success.
Sci-Comm & Liteature Review
The article “Paws for Thought: A Controlled Study Investigating the Benefits of Interacting with a House-Trained Dog on University Students Mood and Anxiety”, was written by Emily L RThelwell, a psychologist at the University of Warwick. The article was published on October 21, 2009 the University. The research presents studies on how dogs are beneficial to college students and their academic success. Student's stress and anxiety levels were examined before and after dogs were present in the classrooms. The results showed that both levels of anxiety and stress were reduced, and even more so when students physically interacted with the dogs. The huge impact of such a small change is extremely beneficial and significant to the lives of so many college students. Many students face high levels of these emotions, especially within their first 2 years of college. This article helps define how to navigate those emotions with simple lifestyle changes, such as interacting with animals. This article presents the same takeaways as my original article. It ultimately helps support the idea that dogs can be mental health resources for students all over.
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Thelwell, Emily L R. “Paws for Thought: A Controlled Study Investigating the Benefits of Interacting with a House-Trained Dog on University Students Mood and Anxiety.” Animals: an open access journal from MDPI vol. 9,10 846. 21 Oct. 2019, doi:10.3390/ani9100846
The Article “The Mental Health Benefits of Having Dogs on College Campuses” was written by eight researchers at the University of Tennessee of Chattanooga. All eight researchers are in the Department of Psychology at this university and published this paper in 2017. The researchers provide extended data on why it is important to have alternative resources for students suffering from mental health illnesses. Their research also specified how using animals in the classroom promotes healthier balances on their rigorous academic schedules. It was significant to see that the data heavily impacted first-year college students more than in other years. The results also showed that 86% of students who shared that they suffered from these illnesses dropped out before graduating. These results significantly dropped when a simple change in how we approach mental health therapy was implemented. This data proves that dog therapy can be a substantial resource to connected students who may be struggling with it. It helps support my original article by driving the point that alternative therapies and resources can provide more support and assistance to college students who take on so much.
Adams, Trenton; Clark, Catherine; Crowell, Victoria; Duffy, Kolleen; Green, Margaret; McEwen, Selena; Wrape, Allison; and Hammonds, Frank (2017) "The mental health benefits of having dogs on college campuses," Modern Psychological Studies: Vol. 22: No. 2, Article 7.
The article “Should Dogs Have a Seat in the Classroom? The Effects of Canine-Assisted Education on College Student Mental Health”, was written by Christine Kivlen a Doctor in Philosophy at Wayne State Univerisity. The article was published on January 15th, 2022, and written at the university. I chose this article because it provides very detailed research on the beneficial aspects of implementing dogs in the classroom. They used methods such as letting students physically play with the animals, and even just having the animals present in the room. Both results showed positive improvements in the mood and overall mental health of all students. The significant part of this whole study was the cost-efficiency approach of having animals in classrooms, and how easy this can be to implement in college classrooms all over. The methods are extremely similar to the previous two articles I presented. This article again, goes back to prove and further the point that canines are a great alternative resource for students to create safe and open communities.
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Kivlen, C. A., Quevillon, A., & Pasquarelli, D. (2022). Should Dogs Have a Seat in the Classroom? The Effects of Canine Assisted Education on College Student Mental Health. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 10(1), 1-14.
Defining the Problem
“Animal Cruelty:
A Review”
The article “Animal Cruelty: A Review” was written by three researchers in Wildlife Ecology Biodiversity and Conservation. This article was published in January of 2013 and analyzes the several types of animal cruelty. There are so many problems associated with animal cruelty, regardless of whether it is intentional or unintentional. The article also discusses the impact of animal cruelty on animals, humans, and the environment. It also examines the ethical concerns and implications of animal cruelty and what that means in terms of what that can look like legally. The significance of this article is the immense detail it gives on each of the several harmful acts of animal abuse. It gives examples of how these hateful crimes can affect so many people's communities around them, and it also helps give context to what that might look like. Finally, the article provides recommendations for reducing animal cruelty.
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Tochukwu, Mogbo & Oduah, F & Nwankwo, Daniel. (2013). Animal Cruelty: A Review. 3.
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The Article “Animal Abuse as a Type of Trauma”, was written by Mary Lou, Martha Smith-Blackmore, Nancy Blaney, Daniel DeSousa, and Audrey-Anne Guyony. It was published in April of 2021 and follows the association between human trauma and animal cruelty. This article explains that animal abuse often happens alongside family violence like domestic abuse and child abuse. It reviews studies showing this link and how it has led to new laws and court decisions. The article suggests that professionals working with both people and animals should work together to better handle these situations. This goes along with my data, as it helps raise awareness to the harmful aspects of animal abuse and gives solutions as to what the next steps are.
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Randour, M. L., Smith-Blackmore, M., Blaney, N., DeSousa, D., & Guyony, A.-A. (2021). Animal Abuse as a Type of Trauma: Lessons for Human and Animal Service Professionals. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(2), 277-288.
The article “Animal Cruelty and Neighborhood Conditions”, was written by Laura A. Reese, Joshua J. Vertalka, and Cassie Richard. It was published in November of 2011 and it analyzes the rates of animal cruelty in local neighborhoods. This article studies animal cruelty in Detroit from 2007 to 2015 using police reports. It finds that poor neighborhood conditions, such as economic stress, vacant buildings, and high crime rates, are the main factors behind animal cruelty. The research supports the idea that deviant behavior and social disorganization best explain why animal cruelty happens in these areas. It significant to my research and data becaused it helps also support the idea that animals can go through and feel emotions as us humans do. Furthermore, it explains how these issues can be combated by looking at different types of cruelty.
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Reese, Laura A et al. “Animal Cruelty and Neighborhood Conditions.” Animals : an open access journal from MDPI vol. 10,11 2095. 11 Nov. 2020, doi:10.3390/ani10112095
Advocating Solutions
The paper "Sorting Out Animal Policy: Ideas, Problems, and Solutions," was written by Jerry Mitchell in 2022 and was published in the International Review of Public Policy, 4:3. Mitchell is a professor at Baruch College at The City University of New York, USA. It talks about the moral status of animals, highlighting their basic right to live as nature intended. The essay also discusses the humane viewpoint in public policy, providing instances of animal abuse as well as possible negative effects on animal welfare. It also explores the employment of animals in public service, especially in the armed forces, and the current political debate about animal abuse, which is fueled by pro-animal activism. It also makes the case for adding animal policy to the area of policy studies to improve understanding of the political dimensions of the interaction between humans and animals. This article relates to my advocacy project by reinforcing the idea of protecting animals and using activism as a form of educating awareness.
Mitchell, Jerry. “Sorting Out Animal Policy: Ideas, Problems, and Solutions.” International review of public policy 4.3 (2022): 340–355. Web.
The article “Just A Dog” was written by Arnold Arluke on June 1st, 2006. Arnold Arluke studies Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University. The article presents valid points and research on the psychological and emotional effects animal abuse has on humans and animals. The study examined 250 people from different backgrounds who all advocate for animal safety. They go on to talk about how dogs have an extremely high sensitivity to emotions and are impacted in many different ways. This study is important because it helps emphasize the importance of advocating for animals' safety. It also poses solutions to combating harsh conditions and offers suggestions to help with the well-being of animals such as dogs. One of the solutions posed was to teach more educational topics on animal safety, as well as make resources more widely available. This relates to my advocacy project because it helps reinforce how important these issues are. It also underlines the immense need for better regulation.
Arluke, Arnold. Just a Dog: Animal Cruelty, Self, and Society. Temple University Press, 2006. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bw1k2h. Accessed 31 May 2024.
The article “Extending Animal Cruelty Protections to Scientific Research" was written by Chad Childers in 2022. Childers wants the FDA to reevaluate the need for preclinical animal testing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and he supports amending and extending the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT) to include all animals. The author highlights the moral implications of animal experimentation and the lack of substantial protections for animals. Childers questions the usage of the term "humane" with the killing of animals and criticizes the vagueness and lack of concrete advice. She pushes for a more inclusive approach to scientific advancement and more education and awareness about animal safety. He provides solutions to the ongoing issue that animal cruelty has presented. This relates to my advocacy project by again highlighting how important it is to advocate and push for better laws. It also helps give readers more insight into why these things matter and how they can overall improve the quality of an animal's life.
Childers, Chad. “Extending Animal Cruelty Protections to Scientific Research.” Voices in bioethics 8 (2022): n. pag. Web.
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