Attitudes and knowledge about Animal-Assisted Intervention among educational professionals

The Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) is increasingly used during the last years as a complementary intervention strategy to mary, and secondary education) attitudes and knowledge about AAI. A total of 110 teachers (79,1% were women), with an average age of 42 years, belonging to 30 educational centers, were assessed online. Participants provided information about their attitudes, intention to use, and knowledge related to AAI, as well as their previous experience and attitudes towards animals. Results showed positive attitudes and intention to use AAI, which is remarkable due to their scarce training and knowledge about AAI. The vast majority of teachers (79,1%) had never participated in an AAI program, although a similar percentage (77,3%) expressed interest and willingness to receive training in this type of intervention. This positive attitude opens the door to the implementation of AAI programs within the educational context and to the training programs for teaching staff, which could enrich the educational attention.