PATRICK, PATRICIA GAIL , Ph. D. Mental Models Students Hold of Zoos. (2006) Directed by Dr. Catherine Matthews. 175 pp. The purpose of this study was to depict the mental models high school students, ages 14 -18, hold of zoos. This study also examined how students define conservation and the role of zoos in conservation. This study examined the differences in mental models of 84 students 1) 21 students who had visited a zoo with their teacher in the same semester in which the study was conducted, 2) 21 stu dents who had visited a zoo during another school year with their teacher, 3) 21 students who had visited the zoo without a teacher, and 4) 21 students who had never visited a zoo. It also examined the mental models of students of different ethnicities and examined differences in mental models of young men and women. This study was conducted and the data analyzed using a qualitative methodology research design. All 84 students completed a demographic questionnaire, a concept map, and a ranking concepts exe rcise. Twenty -four students were interviewed. The findings indicated that: 1) students who had visited a zoo have a richer mental model of zoos than students who have never visited a zoo, 2) students who had visited a zoo with their teacher provided a deep er richer understanding of the roles of zoos in conservation and education, 3) students who have never visited a zoo do have mental models of zoos, 4) students do not mention conservation with respect to zoos unless specifically asked about the role of zoo s in conservation, and 5) students did not mention the zoo’s connection to species survival nor did they view zoos as a source of information for conservation -related topics. The data indicated that the mental models student hold of zoos consist of seven themes: 1) organisms, 2) people, 3) amenities, 4) descriptive terms, 5) habitats, 6) education, and 7) conservation. The seven themes were defined and used to create the Zoo Acuity Model. The central constructs of the Zoo Acuity Model are the Observation Framework, the Interaction Framework, and the Information Framework. Most important to this study is the development of the Information Framework, which described the information students knew about zoos. MENTAL MODELS STUDENTS HOLD OF ZOOS by Patri cia Gail Patrick A Dissertation Submitted to the faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Greensboro 2006 Approv ed by _________________________________ Committee Chair To Momma and Daddy: Thank you for making education an important part of our lives. To Mike: Thank you for listening and listening and listening. To my sisters Tammy and Betsy, w ho share my love for Buffett. To Dr. Matthews: Thank you for never giving up on me, even when you thought I might not be worth all the headaches. To Lady Dr. Sue Dale Tunnicliffe: Thank you for trekking to the U.S. and for being a long distance mentor. To Mack: You are my dog —enough said. ii APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair ______________________ ___ Committee Members _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ ____________________________ Date of Acceptance by Committee __________________ __________ Date of Final Oral Examination iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my dissertation committee: Dr. Catherine Matthews, Dr. Lady Sue Dale Tunnicliffe, Dr. Heidi Carlone, Dr. Barbara Levin and Dr. David Ayers. Thank you to the teachers and students who participated. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................. ..............................ix LIST OF FIGURES............................................................ ................. ................................ x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1 Importance and Rationale of the Study ............... .............................3 Resea rch Questions.............................................. ................ ........... 10 Defining Conservation......................................... ...........................10 What is a Zoo?.................................................. .... ... ........................11 Zoos as Conservation Organizations................ ..............................12 Education in Zoos............................................. ..............................13 Conservation Education....................... ............. ..............................13 Conservation Education in Zoos....................... ..............................14 Research on Conservation -Related Knowledge.. ...........................15 Personal Construct Theory................... ..........................................18 Mental Models..................................................... ...........................19 Research Design.............................................................................22 Procedures for Collection of Data..................................................24 Population.......................................................................................25 Data Collection................................................. ................. .............25 Concept Maps................................................... ..............................26 Semi -structured Interviews............................... ..............................26 Data Analysis................................... .................... ...........................27 Limitations of the Study................................... ..............................27 Summary.............................................................. ...........................28 Organizat ion of the Dissertation.......................... ...........................30 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE....................................................................32 Research on the Impact of Zoos................................................. ...33 Perceptions of Nature....................................................................34 v Page The Evolution of Zoos...................................................................38 The Role of Zoos.................................... .......................................43 The Evolution of Zoo Education...................................................44 Zoo Education...................... ............................... ..........................45 School Visits................ ....................... ................ ..........................50 The Goal of Zoo Conservation Education....... ..............................53 What Visitors Bring to a Zoo Visit..................... ..........................54 Mental Models....... ..................... ........................ ..........................55 III. METHODOLOGY...................................................... ..............................67 Research Questions........................................................... .............69 Qualitative Research Paradigm........................ ..............................71 Credibility............................................................ ...........................75 Transferability............................. ..................... .... ..........................76 Dependability................................................... ..............................77 Confirmability.................................................. ..............................78 Visitor Centered Evaluation Hierarchy............. .............................80 Participants....................................................... ..............................83 Design of the Study.................................................... ....................85 Depicting Mental Models.................... ..............................86 Data Collection —Questionnaires........ ..............................87 Data Collection —Concept Maps......... ..............................87 Data Collection —Interviews............... ..............................90 Data Collection —Ranking Conce pts Exercise..................92 Ethical Issues................................................... ..............................93 Analyzing the Data U sing Systemic Network s.............................94 IV. FINDINGS.................................................................. ..............................97 Demographic Profile of High School Science Students.. ...............98 Mental Models S tudents Hold of Zoos....................... ..................103 Concept Mapping —Mental Models of Zoos.............. ..................106 Interviews —Mental Models of Zoos.... ........................................117 Ranking Concepts Exercise.... ......................... .............................124 Triangulation.................................................... .............................126 Summary.........................................................;............................. 127 vi Page V. DISCUSSION AND CONLUSIONS......................... .............................129 Research Overview......................................... .............................129 Research Questions.......................................... ............................130 Discussion and Interpretations.......................