There is a demand for the professional therapists and educators supported by dogs services on the European market and it is still increasing. Because in Poland and in partner countries there is a lack of uniform standards for AAI, potential employers have a problem with the verification of candidates and often employ unqualified persons. In addition, there are significant differences in standards between countries. Labor standards in the field of animal assisted therapy meanwhile, are crucial for the effectiveness and safety activities. It is in the interests of people with disabilities and other groups that use this type of service to standardize certification and to set standards that every human dog team should fulfill. The project ‘Preparation and training of human dog teams in Dog Assisted Education and Therapy’ is a coherent and necessary continuation of the Therapy Dog Training, and both projects in total will give the result in the form of comprehensive guidelines for the training of professional human dog teams. The aim of this project is to increase the level of quality of the AAI sector in affiliate countries. In order to achieve this a wide range of actions will be taken e.g. conducting a precise diagnosis to establish the situation and needs of these countries (in the context of reaching the equivalent standard), developing a methodology handbook and a course that will help attain skills and knowledge, creating a campaign that will raise awareness among both therapists and the general public which will improve the level of services available on the market. Pilot training will include a group of 28 teams. Trained people will receive certificates in accordance with established standards and with ECVET. This will be the first in Europe, a group of certified professional therapists assisted by dogs. At the end of the activities an international conference will be organized to analyze and popularize the results and the course of the project. The direct participants of the project are a group of 28 therapeutic teams (human + dog), 8 people from Poland, Estonia and 6 from Belgium and Norway. Participants are also partner organizations, which thanks to the project develop their potential, as well as conference participants (160 people) who will familiarize themselves with the results of the project. Intermediate participants include: potential AAI beneficiaries and their carers, specialist staff working with AAT supporters, media representatives, AAI-related academics, students, people interested in vocational education towards AAT, representatives from AAI. To achieve its objectives, the following activities will be carried out: The first step is a detailed diagnosis of the needs of countries and to establish the canon of therapeutic teams training and education common to all partner countries. Step two is the development of a manual that will be a set of documents on the principles of dog training and education, the presentation (along with the justification) of the essential content of the education of a therapist supported by a dog. The handbook will include a brochure with developed standards, which every human dog team should fulfill. The next step will be to develop and conduct a blended-learning course. Its first module will offer e-learning training package. The second module is a stationary part, during which the participants will learn about the principles of working with the dog. During the course will be held stationary workshops imitating working with AAI customers. To get certified, the human dog team will have to pass an exam, consisting of two parts, theoretical and practical. Certificates will comply with exacting standards and ECVET. The results of the project include: international guidelines on the qualifications of a therapist/teacher supported by a dog - methodology handbook, AAT and AAE blended-learning curriculum and training materials, a pilot blended-learning course for 28 people from partner countries, evaluation of methodology and course. At the end of the project: an international conference disseminating the results for 160 people.
Animal-assisted therapy and education, especially with dogs, becomes increasingly popular forms of support for those in need in Europe. Dogs support people with disabilities, seniors, children in schools, people in mental crises, prisoners, and there is a noticeable increase in this type of interventions in various facilities. At the same time, there are no clear laws and regulations in any EU Member State that would ensure standardisation in this sector of work. Good practices are developed individually by each country. Some of them are based on the guidelines of the IAHAIO (an international umbrella organization that brings together institutions working on the basis of the relationship between people and animals). However, these guidelines are too general and each country has its own specificities and experiences. Western and Scandinavian countries have a greater knowledge of these standards, and there most human-dog teams follow the practices recommended by the IAHAIO. Central and Eastern European countries deviate from these standards. Our project has resulted in a product that is ready for implementation in various countries, with high quality confirmed by independent experts. Thanks to the conference and dissemination of the products, they have reached a significant number of recipients. Although there are still no legal solutions to unify the labour market, bottom-up movements are beginning to encourage recognition of one type of certification common to countries. The aim of the project was to introduce greater transparency in the market for training and certification of AAI professionals in Europe. Organisations with relevant knowledge, experience and a significant position in the training market in their home countries were selected for the partnership. An additional advantage was the organization's membership in the international umbrella organization- IAHAIO. Project activities had lead to three project results: information brochure, handbook and blended-learning course. The information brochure contains a diagnosis of the European market, with a detailed description of the partner countries and Estonia (partner in the first phase of the project). The brochure also contains a recommendation - a suggested training path for human-dog teams, ensuring a high quality of work and professional service. The second result of the project is an interactive and a graphically encouraging handbook on professional dog assisted therapy and education. It is a compendium of knowledge for AAI professionals, rich in theoretical content, but also practical tips for training dogs or conducting interventions, as well as interactive materials - QR codes leading to videos presenting the content of the chapters. Illustrations, tables, highlights and graphics help to remember the most important content and make the handbook easier. The last result - the blended-learning course is high-quality training for professionals. The e-learning part consists of 11 lessons containing video lectures, instructional videos, expert interviews, quizzes and reading material for the student. The stationary part of the training took place in Poland and was a summary of the whole training - working with the handbook and e-learning. The training camp was attended by 31 participants with dogs from three partner organizations. These were people working as therapists/teachers on a daily basis, who have had preliminary training in the area of AAI. The participants had certified dogs - according to the rules in each country. The camp made possible to compare the real level of training and expectations between countries and to put the recommendations proposed in the brochure into practice. It was also an opportunity to establish cooperation based on networking. The results were tested on project participants. The participants had the opportunity to read the handbook. They took part in a training course: the online part which allowed to increase theoretical knowledge in an attractive and interactive way. The stationary part of the training allowed an exchange of experiences between countries, comparison of different methods of working with a dog and a patient, familiarizing participants with the methods and guidelines developed in the project. It allowed certifying the first teams in Europe according to the uniform certification system proposed by the partnership. Participants disseminate results in their countries. An international conference had been held in Warsaw in November 2019 and it was a summary of the project and aimed at disseminating its results. It gathered 162 guests from Poland and 37 people from all over Europe (England, Austria, Bulgaria, Crete, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine). The participants were very enthusiastic about the presented results and content - The conference also contributed to the establishment of new international partnerships.