Children and adolescents across 23 communities learn about animals in diverse environments and through multiple activities

Abstract Children's interactions with animals shape their understanding of the biological world and humans' place in it. Understanding where children report they encounter and gain their knowledge of animals can provide insight into the early experiences that help shape human attitudes and connections to nature. To date, there is limited information on how children across diverse communities and age groups interact with animals and learn about them in their daily lives. Using a child‐centred approach, we interviewed 729 children and adolescents (aged 4‐to‐17 years) living in 23 diverse urban and rural communities worldwide and asked them where they saw and learned about animals. Children across diverse communities mentioned zoos, forests and family homes as key places to learn about animals. Across communities of low, medium and high population densities, children were more likely to report learning about animals in human‐built environments than in wild environments. Our data also revealed cross‐cultural variation in the most salient sources of animal knowledge for children in different communities. Children and adolescents from high‐density communities were more likely to mention learning activities, children in medium‐density communities more likely to mention technologies, and young children in low‐density communities more likely to mention wild environments relative to other children. This large‐scale investigation highlights that children's ecological learning is embedded within the cultural, social and environmental contexts they develop in. As interactions with animals provide a direct route to engaging with the natural world, understanding where and how these encounters take place may shed light on where children may build their early relationships with nature. Our findings suggest that environmental education and conservation programs may benefit from considering the local context and tying their activities to the locations and activities children find salient for learning about animals. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
People and Nature
Published
2026-10-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70463
Primary Topic
Animal and Plant Science Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Children and adolescents across 23 communities learn about animals in diverse environments and through multiple activities

Roman Stengelin, Daniel B. M. Haun, Federica Amici, Patricia Kanngießer et al.
People and Nature
Animal and Plant Science Education
article

Children and adolescents across 23 communities learn about animals in diverse environments and through multiple activities

Roman Stengelin, Daniel B. M. Haun, Federica Amici, Patricia Kanngießer, Thomas Stodulka, Putu Oka Ngakan, Katja Liebal, Ferdiansyah Thajib, Sebastian Tempelmann, Dustin Eirdosh, Kadek Sonia Piscayanti, Doriana Sportelli, Negar Asghari, Risma Illa Maulany, Karri Neldner, Noemi Thiede, Ljubica Petrović, Tongtong Meng, Sandra Masaquiza, Monika Swastyastu, Arianna Abis, Disney Tjizao, Dennis Shishala, Blanca Striegler, Janina Weyrowitz, Mirella Christy Rehatalanit, Linus Useb, Maria Inés Sandoval Sernaque, Lena Woidich, Junior Peña Chumacero, Tom Herrnsdorf, Tom Hovehne, Wanting Sun, Magie Junker, Alicia Junker, Ayşenur Sürücü, Ebru Peközer, Dwi Nugraha Jati, Bernardo Arroyo Garcia, Jonathan Weinmann, Zhen Zhang, Lara Abbas, Deasry Julita Taek, Ferry Kurniawan, Aurélien Daviet, Safaa Mahmoud, Nayrouz Abbas, Nelden Gericke
article en

Abstract

Abstract Children's interactions with animals shape their understanding of the biological world and humans' place in it. Understanding where children report they encounter and gain their knowledge of animals can provide insight into the early experiences that help shape human attitudes and connections to nature. To date, there is limited information on how children across diverse communities and age groups interact with animals and learn about them in their daily lives. Using a child‐centred approach, we interviewed 729 children and adolescents (aged 4‐to‐17 years) living in 23 diverse urban and rural communities worldwide and asked them where they saw and learned about animals. Children across diverse communities mentioned zoos, forests and family homes as key places to learn about animals. Across communities of low, medium and high population densities, children were more likely to report learning about animals in human‐built environments than in wild environments. Our data also revealed cross‐cultural variation in the most salient sources of animal knowledge for children in different communities. Children and adolescents from high‐density communities were more likely to mention learning activities, children in medium‐density communities more likely to mention technologies, and young children in low‐density communities more likely to mention wild environments relative to other children. This large‐scale investigation highlights that children's ecological learning is embedded within the cultural, social and environmental contexts they develop in. As interactions with animals provide a direct route to engaging with the natural world, understanding where and how these encounters take place may shed light on where children may build their early relationships with nature. Our findings suggest that environmental education and conservation programs may benefit from considering the local context and tying their activities to the locations and activities children find salient for learning about animals. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

People and Nature
The University of Western Australia (AU), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), University of Münster (DE), Zambia Forestry College (ZM), Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha (ID), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE), Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Institute of Physics (CN), Pädagogische Hochschule Bern (CH), University of Wales Institute Cardiff (SG), Cardiff University (GB), University of Plymouth (GB), Leipzig University (DE), University of Wales (GB)
Forrest Research Foundation, Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst
Quality education
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Animal and Plant Science Education
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Laika access coming soon