Educação Assistida por Animais e prática de leitura para cães: uma revisão integrativa

Abstract

This research aimed to conduct an integrative review of the literature on animal-assisted education, covering studies conducted between 2004 and 2024 in Portuguese and English, focusing on the practices and outcomes of this intervention with elementary school students, emphasizing AAE projects involving reading mediated by dogs. The theoretical framework included legal documents from IAHAIO (2018; 2020) on guidelines regarding Animal-Assisted Interventions, as well as studies by Binder et al. (2024), which provide updated recommendations on terminology in the field, and authors Petenutti (2016), Petenutti and Cunha (2020), and Chelini and Otta (2016), who specifically address Animal-Assisted Education. The methodology is mixed, with qualitative and quantitative approaches, based on an integrative literature review combined with content analysis to present the findings. The integrative review was conducted in the databases CAPES Theses and Dissertations Catalog, Google Scholar, CAPES Journals Portal, PubMed, and SciELO, using the descriptors “animal-assisted education” and “educação assistida por animais.” The selected languages were Portuguese and English, and the selection period for the articles was from 2004 to 2024. The findings included 106 articles, of which 21 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were considered for the final review. Of the 21 articles, 13 were directly related to AAE, with 17 being national publications and 4 international publications. Regarding content analysis, the focused dimensions were Human-Animal Interaction, definition of AAE, involved professionals, target audience of AAE projects, well-being, and animal welfare, and reading to dogs. Additionally, data on projects developed in Brazil were presented, resulting in 8 projects identified in the 21 articles included in the integrative review. It is concluded that AAE projects have shown to be a powerful tool for addressing educational and emotional challenges in children. Reading mediated by dogs can promote a positive learning environment, increasing students' motivation and self-esteem. The expansion of these practices in Brazil could significantly contribute to improving students' academic performance and well-being.