Positive influence of animals on child development as a challenge to educators

Abstract

In this paper our aim is to present some key aspects of the positive influence of animals on child development. We analyse various aspects of children’s emotional and cognitive development, as well as the existing knowledge on positive influence of animals on child development, in an attempt to find a more solid theoretical foundation that could be used by today’s educators. Moreover, humans today are experiencing negative effects on the global scale as a result of the destruction of natural environment and technicization of life. In this paper, therefore, we also try to think about the ways in which the intensity of this negative impact could be mitigated. We see one possible solution in the development of the so-called bioethical sensibility. By looking into the development of bioethics, we conclude that we need a new form of knowledge, as well as a new type of communication or mediation of that knowledge, which would be directed more towards the preservation of life. We see a potential for change in that direction within the modern education profession.