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A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES AT ZOOLOGICAL INSTITUTIONS IN THREE COUNTRIES by Elizabeth Jacoba Venter Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the subject DIDACTICS at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Supervisor: Prof C.P. Loubser & Co-supervisor: Prof J.M. Dreyer November 2014 DECLARATION Student number: 6934919 I declare that A Comparative Evaluation of Educational Programmes at Zoological Institutions in Three Countries is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ________________________ _____________________ Ms Elizabeth Jacoba Venter Date ii DEDICATION Vir my ouers, Florie en Alida. iii ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the Conservation Education programmes of the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG) in Pretoria, South Africa, the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) in Entebbe, Uganda and Zoo Negara in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, in order to devise a Model for an effective zoo Conservation Education Programme. A mixed-methods strategy, namely concurrent triangulation, was used for data-collection. The quantitative method was that of surveys by means of group-administered questionnaires. The population for the quantitative study was school groups that visited the zoos. The qualitative research questions were addressed by means of individual semi-structured interviews. Interpretive analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The participants of the qualitative study were staff members at the zoos and other key figures in the zoo – and conservation sector. The impact of Conservation Education programmes of the zoos were evaluated by means of a logic model. The quantitative results indicated that the Conservation Education programmes were successful in increasing the knowledge of the learners and in increasing their intention to change behaviour. This study further indicated that, although attending zoo Conservation Education programmes has the potential to increase the attitudes and values of learners, this was not always the case. Furthermore, the results show that when learners tested high with regard to their knowledge, attitudes and values prior to attending a Conservation Education programme, their knowledge, attitudes and values will not change significantly after they attended a Conservation Education programme. Furthermore, the results of the qualitative study indicated that the evaluation of Conservation Education programmes and the training of zoo educators should receive more attention to ensure the success of these programmes. It can be concluded that the role of zoos have become even more important to conserve biodiversity through their Conservation Education programmes. Key Terms: Conservation Education, Environmental Education, comparative evaluation, zoo, conserving biodiversity, pro-environmental behaviour, iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is with immense gratitude that I acknowledge the support and help of my promoters, Profs Callie Loubser and Johann Dreyer. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, and Zoo Negara, for their support during the duration of this research. Thank you, Paul Bartels, for your support during all the time that I worked on this study. To my children, Izaan and Ian, my family and friends: thank you all for your encouragement. v TABLE OF CONTENTS page Declaration ii Dedication iii Abstract iv Acknowledgements v Appendices xiii List of tables xv List of figures xvi Acronyms and abbreviations xvii Chapter 1: Introduction to the study 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 The research problem 4 1.3 The aim, objectives and the research questions 5 1.3.1 The aim 5 1.3.2 The objectives 5 1.3.3 The research questions 6 1.4 Thesis statement 6 1.5 The research methodology 6 1.5.1 The mixed methods approach 6 1.5.2 The quantitative study 7 vi 1.5.3 The qualitative study 8 1.5.4 The pilot study 9 1.5.5 The participants 9 1.6 The significance of the study 10 1.7 The rationale for choosing the participating institutions 10 1.8 Definitions of the terms and concepts 12 1.9 Overview of the chapters 13 Chapter 2: Zoos and their role in changing knowledge, skills, behaviour, values and attitudes 2.1 Introduction 17 2.2 The loss of biodiversity 18 2.2.1 Defining biodiversity 18 2.2.2 Threats to biodiversity 21 2.3 The global environmental crisis 26 2.4 Environmental Education, Conservation Education and Education for Sustainable Development 28 2.4.1 The history of Environmental Education, and its development in South Africa 28 2.4.2 Defining Environmental Education, and formalizing its objectives 31 vii 2.4.3 Defining Conservation Education, and finding its place in Environmental Education 37 2.5 The history of zoos and their place in modern society 38 2.5.1 The early beginnings of zoos 39 2.5.2 The evolution of societies into civilizations with attributes favourable to collecting animals 40 2.5.3 Ancient collections and menageries 41 2.5.4 Zoos in recent times 43 2.6 Zoos in Africa and Malaysia 45 2.6.1 Zoos in Africa 45 2.6.2 Zoos in Malaysia 47 2.7 The different roles of zoos 48 2.7.1 The recreational role of zoos 48 2.7.2 Research in zoos 49 2.7.3 The conservation role of zoos 51 2.7.4 The Conservation Education role of zoos 53 2.8 The role of zoos in changing knowledge and skills, behaviour, attitudes and values 55 2.9 The evaluation of Environmental Education programmes 60 2.10 Best practices and the social context 62 2.11 Report on the evaluation of Conservation Education programmes: case studies 63 2.12 Summary 68 viii Chapter 3: The research design 3.1 Introduction 72 3.2 The research paradigm 73 3.2.1 Models and theories of behaviour 74 3.2.2 Pro-environmental behaviour theories 76 3.2.3 Learning theories 89 3.2.3.1 Socio-constructivism 90 3.2.3.2 The Experiential perspective 90 3.3 The research design 91 3.3.1 The research questions 92 3.3.2 Methodology 93 3.3.2.1 The nature of mixed-methods research 94 3.3.2.2 The philosophical assumptions of the knowledge claims 96 3.3.2.3 The mixed-methods strategy 100 3.3.3 The quantitative method 104 3.3.3.1 The research technique 104 3.3.3.2 The research instruments 104 3.3.3.3 The pilot study 108 3.3.3.4 Validity and reliability 112 3.3.3.5 The standardisation of the research instruments 113 3.3.3.6 The population and the sample 117 3.3.3.7 Analysis of the quantitative data 118 ix 3.3.4 The qualitative method 119 3.3.4.1 The research technique 119 3.3.4.2 The research instruments 120 3.3.4.3 Validity and reliability 120 3.3.4.4 The standardisation of the research instruments 121 3.3.4.5 The population and the sample 121 3.3.4.6 Analysis of the qualitative data 122 3.4 Delineations and limitations 126 3.5 Ethical considerations 127 3.6 Conclusion 129 Chapter 4: The results of the study 4.1 Introduction 131 4.2 The quantitative study 132 4.2.1 The demographic profile of the respondents 132 (a) The primary school learners 132 (b) The secondary school learners 135 4.2.2 The results of the quantitative study 138 (a) The primary schools 138 (b) The secondary schools 142 4.2.3 The statistical significance of the results 148 4.2.4 Discussion of the study 155 x 4.2.4.1 The demographic profile of the respondents 155 4.2.4.2 The results of the study 156 (a) The results from the primary school questionnaire 156 (b) The results from the secondary school questionnaire 165 4.3 The qualitative study 181 4.3.1 The participants 181 4.3.2 The results of the qualitative study 183 4.3.2.1 The evaluation of the Conservation Education programmes of the NZG 185 (a) Clarifying the programme theory 185 (b) The programme activities 185 (c) The desired programme results 186 (d) The evaluation study 187 (e) Future plans/ opportunities 190 4.3.2.2 The evaluation of the Conservation Education programmes of the UWEC 191 (a) Clarifying the programme theory 191 (b) The programme activities 191 (c) The desired programme results 192 (d) The evaluation study 193 (e) Future plans/opportunities 195 4.3.2.3 The evaluation of the Conservation Education programmes of Zoo Negara 196 xi (a) Clarifying the programme theory 196 (b) The programme activities 197 (c) The desired programme results 197 (d) The evaluation study 198 (e) Future plans/opportunities 200 4.3.2.4 The results of the research questions 201 (a) What is the purpose of a zoo? 201 (b) Is there a justification for the existence of zoos? 206 4.4 Conclusion 209 Chapter 5: Summary of the findings, conclusions and recommendations 5.1 Introduction 211 5.2 Summary of the findings 211 5.3 Conclusions 224 5.3.1 Conclusions of the quantitative study 224 5.3.2 Conclusions of the qualitative study 228 5.4 A model for an effective zoo Conservation Education 230 programme: Recommendations 5.5 Suggestions for further research 233 5.7 Conclusion 233 References 234 xii APPENDICES Appendix A 253 The Primary School Questionnaire, implemented at the UWEC Appendix B 254 The Secondary School Questionnaire, implemented at the UWEC Appendix C 255 The Primary School Questionnaire, implemented at the NZG Appendix D 256 The Secondary School Questionnaire, implemented at the NZG Appendix E 257 The Primary School Questionnaire, implemented at Zoo Negara Appendix F 258 The Secondary School Questionnaire, implemented at Zoo Negara Appendix G 259 The interview questions: Position - Executive/Managing Director Appendix H 261 The interview questions: Position - Education Manager Appendix I 265 The interview questions: Position - Zoo Educator Appendix J 268 The interview questions: Other key individuals in the zoo/conservation Environment xiii Appendix K 270 The consent form: individual interviews Appendix L 274 The consent form: group-administered questionnaires.