‘IN AWE’ CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
WSPA Latin America has been involved in education for Costa Rican school children since 1989. ‘IN AWE’ programmes are currently operational in Costa Rica, Chile Peru and Brazil.
WSPA also supports some other education initiatives for children in Argentina, Barbados, Colombia, and Mexico by working closely with Member Societies.
Brazil
At the heart of the Amazon jungle children are learning about animal welfare – thanks to a WSPA initiative. The Amazon Ark is a vessel travelling up the river reaching remote forest communities.
The Amazon Ark programme started in the Lower Amazon region in 2003, with the support of the Brazilian Environment Agency (IBAMA), the Centre for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals and Turtles (CPPMA), and the Friends of Manatees Association (AMPA), a local Member Society.
The aim of the project is to deliver an animal welfare education programme and support hands-on activities, as there are no other animal welfare initiatives in this area of Brazil.
Following the example in Costa Rica, the education programme is called ‘Respect for all forms of life’. As part of this programme education specialists train teachers through workshops about animal welfare education and encourage them to include animal welfare topics in the existing school curriculum. Secretaries of Education and teachers of Parintins, Faro, Nhamundá and Terra Santa are very supportive and enthusiastic about the programme.
Wider communities are educated about the plight of locally endangered species such as the Amazon manatee and pink river dolphin. They can learn how to look after their dogs, cats, and many other animals they come into contact with. Horse owners are taught to provide basic care to their animals and local farmers are introduced to a forest friendly ecological system, permaculture, as an alternative to hunting and destruction of wildlife habitat. Environmental authorities are given support for the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife and health authorities are encouraged and supported to adopt humane dog and cat population control methods.
Achievements to date:
2005-2007
- Over 40 schools and 3,500 children in the Amazon region were reached with the ‘Respect for all forms of lsife’ Programme.
- Workshops for over 200 teachers have been very successful. Teachers are passing on knowledge to their colleagues.
- An agreement was signed with Escola da Natureza (EN), introducing WSPA to the Federal District Ministry of Education programme "Parceiros da Escola" (Schools' Partners) in Brasilia, capital city of Brazil.
In 2008 we aim to:
- Train 200 more teachers in the Lower Amazon Region.
- Train 30 teachers of the Escola da Natureza (EN) who, in turn, will train teachers of 650 schools in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.
- Establish contact with UNESCO in Brazil.
- Research the Brazilian educational system and primary education level curriculum.
Costa Rica
WSPA’s International Animal Welfare Education (‘IN AWE’) Programme started in Costa Rica in 1990. The ‘Respect for all forms of life’ teacher guidelines and teacher training workshops were developed by WSPA’s consultants. Similar methods and content have been used in Brazil since 2004 and Peru (2005). Results from a formal evaluation into children’s attitudes towards animal welfare, carried out in 1993, showed significant changes in children’s attitudes achieved after three years into the programme. Currently a joint research initiative between the University of Costa Rica and WSPA is being implemented in order to assess the impact of the in-service teacher training strategy.
The ‘Respect for all forms of life’ programme is still successful today, partly as a result of the WSPA intervention and because the government places emphasis on environmental awareness as an essential part of children’s education.
In 2004 a WSPA animal welfare education module became part of the governmental environmental ‘Blue Flag Programme’ which operates a certification system with those schools achieving the best results for the environment, community and animals being awarded prizes. An example of a first prize is a school that built and monitored a turtle hatchery. Children are not only learning in the classroom, but are also learning by doing real projects in their communities. Teachers, children, and their parents are all very enthusiastic, and at the annual award ceremony journalists will attend to report the school achievements.
In 2006 a new government administration came in place which is in favour of re-launching the teacher training program. The Ministry of Education also indicated a need for more IT-based materials in education and hence WSPA has developed a set of digital resources in CD format with interactive software activities and guidelines for teachers. These resources have been distributed during 2007 to more than 700 primary schools.
Through their involvement in this programme, children will learn values that will help control problems such as irresponsible pet ownership, cruelty to animals, understanding the implication of the wildlife traffic and the maltreatment of farm animals. Animal welfare education is a long-term commitment and it is necessary to build upon all previous efforts. Most of the cruelty to animals is caused by ignorance, however, with long-term investment such as changing the official education curricula, positive change in attitudes is possible.
Achievements to date:
2004-2007
- A cross-curricular module on animal welfare was produced, according to the requirements of the Ministry of Education.
- Teachers, regional Ministry of Education supervisors and science department coordinators (over 80 in 2006 and around 200 in 2007) were involved in teacher training workshops. The course focused on animal welfare, and it provided teachers with ideas and materials about animals which they could apply in their lessons.
- In collaboration with Costa Rica IT educational organisation, the Omar Dengo Foundation, interactive software activities based on AW education have been developed. One version is aimed at younger children (7-9 years old) and the other interactive CD ROM is for older primary school children (9-12 years old).
- WSPA developed a unique teacher training DVD documenting methods that WSPA’s Costa Rican consultant employs and provides background information on humane education and animal welfare for teachers and Member Societies. The DVD has been translated into English and Portuguese.
- The UK Persula Foundation pledged to fund half of the ‘IN AWE’ project costs for 2007
- Collaboration with the University of Costa Rica: ‘Evaluation of the effects of the IN AWE animal welfare programme on attitudes and knowledge in children and teachers.’ Pre-workshop questionnaires were administered to 60 teachers in the workshops in May 2007. Post-workshop questionnaires were administered in October 2007.
In 2008 we aim to:
- Strengthen the relationships with Ministries of Education and UNESCO, and sign/renew agreements with the Ministry of Education in Costa Rica.
- Establish partnerships with Member Societies and other NGO's.
- Develop a framework to embed animal welfare education within university level curriculum (Schools of Education).
- Continue implementation of the animal welfare teacher training scheme.
- Teacher training of more than 270 teachers in Costa Rica. This includes a peer-to-peer training where one trained teacher will pass on his/her knowledge gained during the ‘animal welfare education WSPA workshop’ to two other colleagues in their school.
- Update research of the Costa Rican educational system and primary education level curriculum.
Chile
In Chile a working group of government institutions related to sustainable development, environment and education has been working on policies for an environmental focused sustainable development strategy. In June 2006 WSPA was invited to participate in this task force to discuss animal welfare; this provided important leverage for the positioning of animal welfare in the overall country strategy.
Important networking was established; particularly with government officials, UNESCO representative, and NGOs. In 2006 a Chilean education consultant produced a thorough review of the education system and feasibility of including animal welfare in the curriculum. Recommendations included integrating animal welfare in several subjects, but with an emphasis on environmental education.
In 2007 WSPA humane education and animal welfare was introduced in the government sponsored environmental programme of certified schools, through a pilot training strategy.
Achievements to date
2006-2007
- In November 2006 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between WSPA, the Chilean Ministry of Education and CONAMA (Environmental National Commission).
- Tailored education materials (’Animal Box’) were developed in March 2007, based on existing materials from Costa Rica for both teachers (teacher training guidelines) as well as for children in primary schools.
- A UNESCO endorsement for the ‘IN AWE’ programme was received in April 2007 from the regional educational office for Latin America and the Caribbean, which is located in Santiago, Chile. This endorsement is an important recognition to WSPA’s education programme in the region, and provides the basis for further collaboration initiatives between both organisations.
- Four 2-day workshops reaching 120 teachers were held in April 2007 in and around Santiago, Chile. Follow-up of the teacher training is being carried out by the Chilean consultants. Teachers who participated in the 2007 workshops were very enthusiastic and keen to implement animal welfare activities in their lessons.
- The impact on teachers’ and students’ attitudes has been measured by using the same evaluation methodology that was developed in Costa Rica. Post workshop assessment data will be available in 2008.
- Collaboration was agreed with the Universidad de las Americas in order to support the teacher-training strategy of initial teacher training programmes.
- In October 2007 a UNESCO workshop for science teachers was supported by WSPA consultants.
In 2008 we aim to:
- Strengthen the relationships with Ministries of Education and UNESCO, and sign/renew agreements with the Ministry of Education in Chile.
- Establish partnerships with Member Societies and other NGO's.
- Develop a framework to embed animal welfare education within university level curriculum (Schools of Education).
- Continue implementation of the animal welfare teacher training scheme.
- Teacher training of more than 270 teachers in Chile. This includes a peer-to-peer training where one trained teacher will pass on his/her knowledge gained during the ‘animal welfare education WSPA workshop’ to two other colleagues in their school.
Peru
With nearly 90.000 serious dog bites reported every year (within an estimated dog population of 3.5 million) Peru is becoming one of the Latin American countries with the highest incidents of animal aggression and dog attacks. New control, prevention and education strategies have been developed resulting in a reduction in the number of attacks being reported and an increase in rabies vaccinations coverage. Previous reports have concluded that problems arise from lack of owner responsibility, lack of educational programmes and lack of legislation.
In 2002 an agreement was signed with the Ministry of Education in Peru to carry out teacher training workshops. These began in 2004.
A consultant completed the training programme in Piura, northern Peru, and in Lima. A local consultant carried out the evaluations and follow up visits at 45 participant schools in Lima. The teacher trainings proved to be effective as the evaluation carried out by the Ministry of Education showed that the teachers implemented the activities in their classrooms. Teachers were able to adapt the curriculum and use the WSPA materials within four curricular areas established by the Ministry of Education.
The evaluation showed that the multiplying effect of peer-to-peer training required more visits from the local consultant. Challenges included the reproduction of materials and support from a local consultant to answer any questions arising during the peer-to-peer training sessions.
Between 2004 and 2005 57 primary schools were reached (including 404 teachers) and over 15,000 students. The teachers enjoyed the workshops and requested further training.
The teacher training programme is based on the Costa Rican ‘Respect for all forms of life’ materials, and teaches the capacity to relate to animals, developing a sense of justice and respect towards all living beings. Teachers integrate animal welfare topics and activities in the official curriculum.
Achievements to date
2005-2007
- WSPA conducted a training programme in northern Peru. The training consisted of a review of the ‘Respect for all forms of life’ materials, an evaluation of the work carried out in 2005, and new classroom techniques on how to introduce the topics within the existing curriculum topics.
- A local consultant carried out evaluations and follow-up visits at 45 schools previously trained in Lima. Training proved to be effective as the evaluations carried out by the Ministry showed that teachers implemented the activities in the classrooms. Teachers were able to adapt the curriculum and use materials within the four areas (communication, social studies, ethics, and science) established by the Ministry of Education.
- Train-the-trainer scheme: Each trained leader teacher agreed to train at least four colleagues. 650 leader-teachers were trained, reaching more than 20.000 children in 2005. 60% of the leader-teachers trained their colleagues.
- A new three-year agreement with the Ministry of Education is currently being reviewed and was signed in February 2008.
- In September 2007 WSPA received authorisation from the Ministry of Education (Piura Department), and training sessions were completed for a total of 136 teachers (94 schools). On-going follow-up and replication (peer-to-peer training) supervision will be carried out. This new stage involves the participation of a new Member Society located in Piura.
In 2008 we aim to:
- Strengthen the relationships with Ministries of Education and UNESCO, and sign/renew agreements with the Ministry of Education in Peru.
- Establish partnerships with Member Societies and other NGO's.
- Develop a framework to embed animal welfare education within university level curriculum (Schools of Education).
- Continue implementation of the animal welfare teacher training scheme.
- Teacher training of more than 270 teachers in Peru. This includes a peer-to-peer training where one trained teacher will pass on his/her knowledge gained during the ‘animal welfare education WSPA workshop’ to two other colleagues in their school.
- Update research of the Peruvian educational system and primary education level curriculum.
