The inclusion of animals or direct experience with them is considered an important factor in overcoming prejudices towards animals. The impact of face-to-face contact is a researched topic, but poorly researched in the field of prospective teachers. In the master's thesis, we investigated the readiness of future teachers for the inclusion of chinchillas, toads and rats in biology science lessons. We chose the animals because of their characteristics, namely an animal that people love (chinchillas), and toad and rat, which tend to evoke negative emotions. In the research, we relied on already known research on attitudes towards animals in education. With the help of a questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale of attitudes, we obtained attitudes of students (89) in the first and third year of college about the inclusion of selected animals in the lessons. We collected opinions before and after the direct experience whit animals. With the help of SPSS analysis, we checked whether there are statistically significant differences in attitudes before and after the direct experience. The results show that direct experience has a positive effect on future teachers' attitudes towards the inclusion of selected animals. It turned out that even before the direct experience, students' attitudes were positive and they tend towards the inclusion of animals in lessons. However, we were careful interpreting results, as we conducted the research on a very small sample. The results of the research can be used for further, more in-depth research on the topic, or we can apply them in lessons and thereby improve our teaching process.
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