The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine if consistent exposure to classroom pets in public elementary school classrooms affected children’s empathy. The sample included 44 students (females = 22; males = 22; mean age = 8.3 years) from four third-grade classrooms. A pre-test, post-test design was used to measure students’ empathy levels, and percentage changes in empathy scores were recorded for all groups. The sample was a convenience sample, and random assignment to treatment groups was not possible. Treatment included using classroom pet fish along with empathy-based lessons. Of the four participating classrooms, one classroom was the Control Group, with no classroom pet and no lessons. A second classroom was the Pet Only group (pet fish in the classroom, but no empathy-based treatment regimen). The third classroom was the Lessons Only group, which had no pet but the students engaged in a series of empathy-based mini lessons. The fourth classroom was the Pet+Lessons group, where students cared for, and interacted with, the classroom pet fish in addition to participating in a 4-week empathy-based treatment regimen. Each group participated in pre- and post-tests using the Bryant Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (Bryant, 1982), and the Lessons Only and Pet + Lessons group had four consecutive weeks of empathy-based mini lessons (each lesson with an opportunity for expansion through a project-based approach). This was followed by one week to reflect on the learning through final discussions and to re-administer the post-test. After exposure to the classroom pet and the empathy intervention, the three treatment groups all experienced an increase in empathy, while the Control Group experienced a decrease, suggesting that classroom pets, project-based empathy lessons, or a combination of both all had a positive impact on children’s empathy. Additionally, qualitative data in the form of interviews with classroom teachers, field notes from the researcher during empathy lessons, and examination of children’s empathy journals was analyzed to gain more knowledge on teacher and student perspectives of teaching and learning empathy and working with a classroom pet. Results are discussed relative to future research and classroom practices.

Djur kan påverka människor på många olika sätt. Djur kan påverka människors fysiska hälsa genom att sänka kolesterolhalten och blodtryck, de minskar även stress och ångest. Att använda sig av djur i undervisningen påverkar även barn. Genom att inkludera djur i undervisningen kan elever öka sina empatiska förmågor, sociala färdigheter och öka motivationen för skolarbete. I den befintliga forskningen saknas det dock en djupare förståelse om hur reptiler och insekter kan påverka eleverna. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur elever i årskurs fem själva upplever att reptiler och insekter påverkar dem genom att placera dessa djurgrupper i två klasser. För att undersöka detta används följande forskningsfrågor. Hur kan reptiler och insekter påverka eleverna? Vad kan barnen lära sig om djuren? Uppfattar eleverna någon skillnad på klassrumsklimatet före och efter placeringen av djur i klassrummet? Studien utgick ifrån fyra olika teorier, sociokulturell teori, anknytningsteori, human-animal interaction och animal-assisted interventions. Deltagarna arbetade i mindre grupper med djuren i klassrummet i två omgångar spridda över fem veckor. Under dessa fem veckor samlades data in kontinuerligt genom dagboksanteckningar, observationer och intervjuer. Av materialet framkom det att eleverna fick bättre relation till djuren med tiden, eleverna blev mer avslappnade i djurens närhet, eleverna lärde sig mycket om djurens behov, fysiska attribut och skötsel. Förändringen som några elever såg var att klasserna inte var lika högljudda, många var nyfikna på hur djuren mådde och tittade därför till dem efter varje rast och de pratade mer om respektive djur. / Animals can influence humans in various ways. Animals can affect human’s physical health through lowering the cholesterol content and blood pressure, they also reduce stress and anxiety. The use of animals in education can also affect children. By including animals in the education, students can increase their empathic abilities, social skills and increase the motivation for school. In the current research, however, there is a lack of deeper understanding of how reptiles and insects can affect pupils. The purpose of this study is to research how pupils in year five themselves experience that reptiles and insects affect them by placing these animals into two classes. To research this purpose the following research questions are used. How can reptiles and insects affect pupils? What can children learn about the animals? Do the pupils perceive any difference in the classroom climate before and after the placement of the animals in the classroom? The study was based om four different theories, sociocultural theory, attachment theory, human-animal interaction, and animal-assisted interventions. The participants worked in small groups with the animals in the classroom during two occasions spread over five weeks. During these five weeks, data were collected continuously though diary entries, observations, and interviews. The information that emerged from the collected data was that the pupils became better related to the animals over time, the pupils got more relaxed in vicinity of the animals, the pupils learned a lot about the animals’ needs, physical attributes, and how to care for the animals. The changes that some students noticed was that the classes were not as loud as usual, many were curious about how the animals were doing and therefore checked at them after each break and the pupils talked more about each animal.