Factors influencing primary school children's knowledge of wildlife

Abstract

We examined the wildlife knowledge of primary (aged 4–12) schoolchildren. In particular, we examined the effects of children's age and gender, as well as the taxonomy and origin (indigenous versus exotic) of wildlife, on the degree of knowledge about different species.We used illustrated ‘flashcards’ of mammals, birds and arthropods, drawn randomly from a species pool. Each indigenous example was paired with an exotic animal. Wildlife knowledge overall increased steadily with age, although the ability to identify species peaked at age 9 then declined slightly. Boys had significantly greater wildlife knowledge than girls, and children of both sexes identified more indigenous than exotic species. Knowledge of mammals was significantly better than that of birds and arthropods. Knowledge of some very common indigenous species, such as sparrow and earwig, was poor.We conclude that the potential for primary school wildlife education using common and easily accessible species of birds and arthropods is not fully realised, and that girls in particular lack knowledge of local species.

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