[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-591254-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-591254-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","impact-of-therapy-dogs-on-student-achievement-in-rural-math-classrooms-research-study","IMPACT OF THERAPY DOGS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN RURAL MATH CLASSROOMS - Research Study","","Therapy dogs are examined as a classroom-based animal-assisted intervention to improve students’ mental, emotional, and academic outcomes in a rural middle school math setting. The study evaluates whether therapy dogs can reduce stress and anxiety to enhance concentration, learning, and achievement on statewide assessments, while also considering broader classroom effects such as social skills and behavior. Motivational theory and quantitative analysis guide the investigation of dogs’ impact on academic performance.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/impact-of-therapy-dogs-on-student-achievement-in-rural-math-classrooms-research-study/591254/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/impact-of-therapy-dogs-on-student-achievement-in-rural-math-classrooms-research-study/591254.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"eBook King","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What is the study investigating about therapy dogs?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"The study investigates how therapy dogs impact academic achievement in a rural middle school math classroom, with focus on student performance on 8th-grade math assessments.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"Why might therapy dogs improve math achievement?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Therapy dogs can reduce stress and anxiety, improving concentration and learning outcomes. They may also support social skills and create a more productive classroom environment.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How does the study assess differences in impact?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"A three-way repeated measures ANOVA is used to evaluate the effects by gender and socioeconomic status, to determine whether therapy dogs affect groups differently.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},591254,1792190839,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962088006270,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","P-12 Education Studies  \nIMPACT OF THERAPY DOGS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN  \nRURAL MATH CLASSROOMS  \nCara Dudley and Denise Knight  \nThe University of West Alabama  \nAbstract  \nTherapy dogs positively impact students mental and emotional well-being, which can improve the student's academic performance. Therapy dogs can reduce stress and anxiety levels, which leads to better concentration and improved learning outcomes. Canines can also help improve social skills and behavior, which fosters a more productive classroom environment. School accountability becomes more critical each year. Student performance on state assessments determines accountability ratings. This study investigated therapy dogs’ impact on academic achievement in a rural middle school math classroom. By addressing this issue through learning motivational theory, the quantitative research sheds light on how incorporating canine animalassisted interventions into the daily classroom routine can increase student achievement.  \nAuthor Note: The authors provide permission to publish this manuscript. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Cara Dudley, [dudleyc1495@uwa.edu](dudleyc1495@uwa.edu).  \nKeywords: therapy dogs, animal-assisted therapy, animal-assisted intervention, animal-assisted activities, rural math achievement  \nIntroduction  \nThe use of therapy dogs received traction in the 1960s through the work of Boris Levinson. In his counseling practice, he noted that when his dog Jingles was present, children opened up and began progressing toward goals (Friesen, 2010; Levinson et al., 2017). Jingles was Levinson’s pet, simply a companion dog, revolutionizing how dogs are used in therapeutic settings. Canines gradually appeared in school counseling sessions, then in reading interventions. The literature focuses on reading or counseling; however, a need exists to determine if therapy dogs can positively impact math achievement. The current study found no published literature examining the impact of dogs in math. If canine therapy can positively impact reading achievement, can canine therapy impact math achievement?  \nOver 2.7 million students take the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) each year. In 2022, 49% of Texas 8th graders did not perform on grade level on the 8th-grade math STAARtest (Texas Education Agency, 2022). In 2019, 69% of 8th-grade students scored basic on the National Assessment of Educational Preparedness Assessment, orthe NAEP test (NCES, 2022). There is a problem nationwide in the math performance of 8thgrade students. With school accountability on the line, a need exists to determine if therapy dogs may be an alternative way to impact math student achievement positively.  \nProblem Statement  \nThe specific problem is the struggle for students to achieve the STAAR's passing standards in middle school math. The researcher sought to determine the impact of therapy dogs on rural student achievement in 8th-grade STAAR math scores at Centerville Independent School District (CISD). CISD is considered a rural-remote school, as classified by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2022. The census defines rural remote as more than 25 miles from an urban center (NECS, 2022). The effects of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) in the math classroom of the eighth grade were evaluated holistically, then assessed by examining gender and socioeconomic status.  \nSignificance of the Study  \nResearch shows a 60% reduction in stress when therapy dogs are present (Anderson et al., 2017). Students perform better on assessments when they feel less stressed (Sadowski & Gulgos, 1995). Bringing therapy dogs into the rural classroom lowers stress and increases student performance on state assessments (Jenkins et al., 2004). Research also suggests that canines can provide students with things teachers cannot, such as a sense of belonging and anonjudgmental presence (Zents et al., 2017). When students feel at ease and ","cbCaiqd8tEJ8FI6R","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqd8tEJ8FI6R","pdf",394847,28,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n# Problem Statement\n# Significance of the Study\n# Purpose of the Study\n# Background and Justification","[{\"question\":\"What is the study investigating about therapy dogs?\",\"answer\":\"The study investigates how therapy dogs impact academic achievement in a rural middle school math classroom, with focus on student performance on 8th-grade math assessments.\"},{\"question\":\"Why might therapy dogs improve math achievement?\",\"answer\":\"Therapy dogs can reduce stress and anxiety, improving concentration and learning outcomes. They may also support social skills and create a more productive classroom environment.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study assess differences in impact?\",\"answer\":\"A three-way repeated measures ANOVA is used to evaluate the effects by gender and socioeconomic status, to determine whether therapy dogs affect groups differently.\"}]","IMPACT OF THERAPY DOGS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN RURAL MATH CLASSROOMS - Research Study | PDF",1792071435,71]