Knowledge of the ecology of forest animals and their eating habits is essential for understanding broader ecological issues. This leads to the development of an ecologically literate individual who is aware of the importance of sustainable development and who, through their actions, tries to tend to the welfare of our and the future generation. It is important that we begin to equip children with such knowledge in early childhood so that they will develop into adult environmentalists, a notion documented in Agenda 21 adopted in 1992.
Using a semi-structured interview my master's thesis studies the knowledge of pre-school children about the ecology of forest animals (bear, badger, fox, hedgehog, salamander, owl, deer, squirrel, rabbit and wolf), their notions about these forest animals’ eating habits and the relationships between individual forest organisms. At the same time, I also explored how and in what way the pre-school children came up with the answers provided – I was interested in their primary informants.
A group of 50 children, aged 4-5 years, participated in the survey I carried out. I have found that children have some knowledge of forest animals, however, their knowledge is general and in most cases not in-depth. They are well equipped with knowledge of where these animals live, and they also have a fairly well-formed idea of the interspecific prey - predator interaction. Nevertheless, their knowledge of eating habits of forest animals is insufficient. Even when describing forest animals’ body structure and their properties, the children presented very sparing descriptions. In regards with the children's primary informants the results point to the children’s parents, with the mother playing the predominant role.
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