FG Basel’s New Way to Help Students
Paws and Relax: How Therapy Dogs Are Taking the Stress Out of Exams – FG Basel’s New Way to Help Students Chill During Exam Season
Oxford, Cambridge, Columbia, Harvard; what do these prestigious schools have in common? They all use social therapy dogs to alleviate student stress, improve mood, and increase learning and academic performance. Now we can add Freies Gymnasium to that list.
Last year, during the Matura exams, we created a small space for social therapy dogs. During the critical mathematics and French tests, Matura candidates were able to leave the exam room, and interact with qualified social therapy dogs. There was one dog and one student at a time, and the visits were limited to ten minutes. Twelve students took this opportunity to clear their minds and relax, before returning to their exams. Overall, the reaction was extremely positive, and we hope to offer the same program next year, perhaps the first of its kind in Switzerland.
A growing body of research shows that social therapy dogs provide significant benefits to students of all ages. For example, one study, entitled “Paws for thought,” showed that university students who interacted with dogs had improved mood and reduced anxiety compared to others in a control group. Another study, conducted by Dr. Patricia Pendry, a developmental psychologist at Washington State University, showed that college students who spent ten minutes petting a dog had significantly lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone measured in saliva, compared to students who spent the same amount of time viewing pictures of dogs, or sitting quietly in a room alone.
“We already knew that students enjoy interacting with animals, and that it helps them experience more positive emotions,” Pendry said. “What we wanted to learn was whether this exposure would help students reduce their stress in a less subjective way. And it did, which is exciting because the reduction of stress hormones may, over time, have significant benefits for physical and mental health.”
Universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have evolved different ways to incorporate dogs into daily life. These include “puppy rooms” where dogs are available for students, dogs which can be “booked” for walks, dogs who sit in “office hours” at specific times of the day, emergency support services called “dogs on call,” dogs placed with special needs students for longer periods of time, dogs that circulate freely on campuses with their owners, and pet friendly dormitories and facilities. The important point is to bring dogs and young people together.
Lee Kramer, director of student life at the University of Pennsylvania, explained, “Student well-being is vital, and we want to make sure that we provide our students with wellness resources, programming, and initiatives throughout the year in order for them to flourish and thrive.”
On a personal note, I’ve noticed that in Switzerland social therapy dogs are often incorporated into activities at the primary school level, but are almost entirely absent in the Gymnasium. I’ve always thought that older students can benefit enormously from interacting with dogs, especially because the research is clear, and the emotional effects are obvious.
I’m delighted that we were able to make this program happen, and I’d like to thank our directors, Jürgen Mischke and Thomas Bretscher, for supporting this unique initiative.
I hope our students continue to benefit from social therapy dogs in the future.
Bruno Schull, science teacher
