What Do Pre-Service Preschool Teachers Know about Biodiversity at the Level of Organisms? Preliminary Analysis of Their Ability to Identify Vertebrate Animals

Abstract

The current global crisis has one of its worst sides in the biodiversity crisis. Biodiversity loss affects both species and the functionality of ecosystems. This leads to a decrease or loss of ecosystem services, with catastrophic effects on all living beings, including humans. In this sense, education must be another tool that contributes to biodiversity conservation. The aim of this research is to determine the knowledge that pre-service preschool teachers have about vertebrate animals. The results indicate that there is little knowledge of the native fauna (from a nearby regional geographical area). In this case we consider native fauna the fauna of the Iberian Peninsula, as this is the location of the research. The scarce knowledge of the native fauna can be an obstacle to its teaching and therefore to its conservation. In this sense, training actions are needed to provide teachers with knowledge of native biodiversity so that the school can act as a complement to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

1. Introduction

In its latest report, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) highlights the main environmental challenges of the 21st century, which includes environmental pollution, deforestation of natural areas, and biodiversity loss as the main environmental problems [1]. Various global studies and reports [2,3], point out that biodiversity loss is one of the most unfavorably evolving environmental problems. It is difficult to establish the rates of extinction in recent years, but several studies on biodiversity loss agree that these rates are higher than would be expected, even suggesting that the planet is immersed in the Sixth Mass Extinction, with humans and their activity being the original focus [4,5,6].

The focus of our work, biodiversity, is a difficult concept to convey to the public because of its abstraction and multiplicity of interpretations [7]. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines biological diversity as the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and ecosystems [8].

Therefore, at the international level, most countries, when setting their strategies to protect the environment, make special mention of increasing social awareness of biodiversity, emphasizing that the more the public as a whole becomes familiar with its main aspects, the closer we will be to its protection [9].

Species level is probably the most accessible level to approach biodiversity knowledge. Therefore, it can be a good starting point to introduce biodiversity as a scientific content in schools, especially at the most basic educational levels. In this sense, several authors point out that the understanding of biodiversity can be a learning process that occurs through an encounter with the natural world and its variability, i.e., with different species of plants, insects, and other animals [10]. This approach to promote species knowledge in preschool education can be part of a useful educational strategy for biodiversity conservation [11].

In any case, having basic knowledge about the identification of different species of plants and animals is an elemental requirement to understand and appreciate biodiversity, since the species is the essential unit of biodiversity [12].

Thus, there is a clear need to develop species diversity literacy in our society, going beyond the simple naming of species, by referring also to other domains of learning, including basic factual knowledge, awareness and understanding, as well as the development of skills and abilities in species observation and the application of knowledge [13]. Understanding biodiversity and related issues is underpinned by species literacy, thus species knowledge is fundamental to understanding the relationships between species and the environment [14].

Furthermore, species literacy can stimulate people’s interest in biodiversity, but also in the environment and sustainability [15]. Knowing about species can help foster a connection to the environment [16], and species, even providing people with a sense of identification and belonging to a particular place, which promotes that proper valuation of living species and increases the authenticity of localities and can contribute to people’s attachment to their living environment [17]. Conversely, poor knowledge about the local environment could indicate a lack of relationship and identification between people and the immediate environment [18]. To engage people in biodiversity conservation and gain public support, increasing awareness of biodiversity has been recognized as a good starting point. A deeper understanding can empower people to make informed decisions about their own lives or the world they would like themselves or their children to live in [19].

In this sense, the role of the younger generation is of great importance for the conservation and care of the environment [20]. Therefore, environmental education can be the answer to environmental problems [21]. However, there are shortcomings and limitations in addressing environmental education in schools [22]. On the one hand, we find teachers’ own awareness of environmental problems and, on the other hand, the scarce environmental training they have received [23]. Spanish universities have tried to implement environmental education as a cross-cutting subject in the official curriculum; the most important action being that carried out by the Network for the Environmental Curriculum in Higher Education in Spain (Red ACES) [24]. Despite this fact, future teachers have insufficient levels of environmental literacy [25].

Therefore, it is necessary to provide pre-service teachers with the necessary knowledge about Environmental Education, so that they are able to train future generations in this subject [26].

In this case, keeping in mind the current didactic foundations of Environmental Education [27], three main criteria can be established to carry out the selection of contents:

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The potential interest for learners depends largely on the context and the tasks that are put into practice in mobilizing the contents (what for, where from, and how the contents are obtained and processed by the learners). It is commonly accepted that the degree of interest and motivation will be higher at this stage if the contexts are those of play, practical experience, or research [28]. On the other hand, the level of interest will also depend on the nature of the content itself (whether it is procedural or more theoretical content, whether it refers to topics close to or distant from their current interests and daily life, etc.);

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The potential significance of the content lies basically in the students’ ability to assimilate the new data or ideas with their available knowledge and cognitive capacities;

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Curricular relevance is related to the value given by current didactic knowledge, through the current curriculum, to the different contents that can be brought into play in primary education for the development of the objectives and competences to be promoted in relation, in this case, to knowledge of the natural environment [29].

As said, the defense and conservation of biodiversity undoubtedly requires its consideration in the education system [30,31], with a basic level of reference for its study being the taxonomic level, in which the recognition of the most frequent and native species can be considered fundamental [32,33,34,35].

In relation to the interest of the taxonomic level of biodiversity, several studies analyze species knowledge in the educational world. For example, Kvammen (2015) [36], points out that species knowledge among pre-service teachers has decreased over the last 20 years. Lindemann-Matthies et al., (2017) [32], in a study conducted in Germany with pre-service teachers, found that these future teachers are able to identify 23% of plants and 44% of animals from a sample of species inhabiting environments close to the students. Wolff and Skarstein (2020) [31], in a study of prospective pre-school teachers in Finland, report that at the beginning of a biodiversity training programme, students are able to identify only two thirds of the proposed species. Yli-Panula and Matikainen (2014) [37], in a study conducted in Finland with secondary school students, found that there is a better Identification of large mammals, especially from distant environments, while animals from close ecosystems are identified to a lesser extent. Almeida et al., (2019) [38], in a study carried out with primary school students and trainee primary school teachers in Spain and Portugal, report that animals from the African savannah were better identified than animals from the Iberian Peninsula.

There are also studies, focused on the educational world, both among teachers and students, which point to differences in priorities according to species. This biased perception can also be an obstacle to the teaching of biodiversity. For example, Lindemann-Matthies (2005) [39], in a study carried out in Switzerland among primary school pupils, points to a clear preference for large mammals and exotic species over local and native species. Various possible causes are suggested, such as the media popularity of some species as opposed to the lack of knowledge of others, something also pointed out by Magaña and Ezquerra (2016) [40]. Campos (2012) [41], on the other hand, points out that, among students, the best-known species are the exotic, domestic, or ornamental animals and plants, while native species are less known. Furthermore, Yorek et al., (2008) [42] and Almeida et al., (2017) [43], among others, point out that a lack of knowledge about species and a bias towards preferring some species and rejecting others can hinder a true understanding of the role of species in ecosystems and the true dynamics of ecosystems, something that occurs both at the level of students and teachers.

In general, these and other studies highlight the lack of knowledge about biological species in the educational world. Being able to identify species is not just a matter of recognizing them, but is a preliminary step towards learning about their origin, evolution, relationships, etc. It also involves the observation of these species and the application of knowledge about them. The competence to know species therefore helps to understand two fundamental facts: the need for their conservation and our direct dependence on biodiversity networks, on which we are directly dependent [13,32,44].

1.1. Start of Environmental Education in Preschool Education

Childhood is the key period to introduce environmental education owing to the strength and lasting quality of an early relationship formed between children and the natural world; also, the use of animals is particularly efficient in encouraging such a relationship, due to the affective relationship that children easily build with animals [45]. Furthermore, it is known that in order to understand biodiversity, it is crucial to have knowledge of different species and their life conditions since biodiversity learning for children starts with observing plants and animals in the neighborhood [32]. Thus, knowledge of species, interest in nature, and nature experiences are the factors that in the childhood best promote interest in and understanding of environmental issues, biodiversity, and sustainable life [15].

Focusing on the biodiversity and sustainability in child education in the Spanish context, the inclusion of these important topics is verified, through an interdisciplinary approach, in this educational stage. Thus, the

Table 1. Biodiversity and Sustainability and the Preschool Education curriculum in the Spanish educational system.

Area: Discovery and Exploration of the Environment
Specific Competence: - Recognize elements and phenomena of nature, showing interest in the habits that affect it, to appreciate the importance of sustainable use, care and conservation of the environment in people’s lives.
Evaluation Criteria: - Show an attitude of respect, care and protection towards the natural environment and animals, identifying the positive or negative impact that some human actions they exert on them. - Identify common and different traits between living and inert beings. - Establish relationships between the natural and social environment based on the knowledge and observation of some natural phenomena and the patrimonial elements present in the physical environment.
Basic knowledge: - Influence of people’s actions on the physical environment and on natural and cultural heritage. Climate change. - Natural resources. Sustainability, clean and natural energies. - Natural phenomena: identification and impact on people’s lives. - Respect and protection of the natural environment. - Empathy, care, and protection of animals. Respect for their rights.

shows a summary of the educational curriculum, the specific competences that are intended to be achieved and the evaluation criteria and basic knowledge to be put into practice about these contents [46].

Consequently, structural transformations are needed in order for teacher education programs to accommodate both sustainability and interdisciplinarity as the student teachers are introduced to tools and resources that support their inquiries into complexity [47]. Especially since the research suggests that many student teachers who participated in training courses on these contents found that the intervention improved their understanding of environmental and sustainable education, how to incorporate it into their own teaching subjects and how to carry out an interdisciplinary practice [47].

In this aspect, other researchers have shown that the improvement in the knowledge about species made pre-service preschool teachers more confident and willing to bring children out into nature and investigate animals and plants with them [48]. Therefore, a professional teacher should be familiar with all common species in their own neighborhood and those presented in schoolbooks, in order to understand ecological phenomena and the role of species in biodiversity and sustainable development [15].

As a consequence of all the above, implementing species knowledge in child education teacher education can promote an interest in the natural world and may form a significant contribution to nature and sustainability education for teachers of this important educational stage [32].

In summary, the studies show that environmental education remains a great challenge today and that it is essential to promote awareness and facilitate the development of “environmental citizens”. Thus, with the aim of improving environmental awareness, many educational projects are carried out based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, therefore, teachers must understand the complex concepts of sustainability, be open to integrating new educational modalities and master the approaches and teaching methods of Education for Sustainable Development to offer specific guidance and solution-based processes [49].

1.2. Objective and Research Question

Considering all of the above and considering that in Spain there is a scarce tradition in this type of studies on species identification in the educational environment, the aim of this research is as follows: Identify the knowledge the pre-service preschool teachers have about the diversity of vertebrate animals, especially those species that are close to us and with a certain degree of threat and conservation interest.

Therefore, this study that is presented below, wants to answer the question: are future preschool teachers capable of recognizing vertebrate species of the Iberian Peninsula?

2. Materials and Methods

In relation to the initial training of preschool education teachers, a research project is proposed to determine the level of knowledge of biodiversity at its most basic and intuitive level; the identification of species. For this, the ability of the students of the preschool education degree to identify species in their own environment was analyzed.

2.1. Sample

The preliminary results presented here are part of a larger research project that is still under development. The data come from a sample of 53 students of the Degree in Preschool Education at the Faculty of Education of the University of Murcia. 50 participants were women (94.34%) and 3 were men (5.66%).

2.2. Instrument for Data Collection

Data collection was based on an ad hoc questionnaire administered using the Google Forms application. In the questionnaire, each student had to write down the common name in Spanish of each of the species as they were displayed on the screen. To do so, a set of 60 photographs corresponding to as many vertebrate species was previously selected (Figure 1).

The set of images includes 14 species of fauna from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, distributed into 6 endangered species, 5 species of special interest, 3 vulnerable species (

Table 2. Species of threatened vertebrate species in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Endangered	Vulnerable	Special Interest
Great Bustard	Greek tortoise	Golden Eagle
Lesser Kestrel		Peregrine Falcon
Spanish Toothcarp	Spanish Ibex	Eurasian Eagle-owl
Bonelli’s Eagle		European Badger
Eurasian Otter	Fire Salamander	Wildcat
White-headed duck

), and the 10 most emblematic species worldwide [50,51,52]. The remaining 38 species include both Iberian and non-Iberian fauna, and within each subgroup there are both common and widely distributed species and others with lesser known and more restricted distributions.

2.3. Evaluation of the Answers

The answers were evaluated according to their correctness. A simple numerical scale was used to assign a score to each species in order to determine the level of knowledge among the students. The rating scale, adapted from Randler and Heil (2021) [53], was set as follows: value 0 for incorrect identification or no response; value 1 for incomplete (but not incorrect) identification; and value 2 for correct identification of the species. Thus, we assign value 1 in cases where the appropriate species name consists of a noun and an adjective, green iguana or golden eagle, and the student names only the noun, iguana, or eagle.

2.4. Data Processing and Analysis

Once the responses had been collected, the data were tabulated and pre-processed using Microsoft Excel 365 software. Subsequently, the free software for statistical analysis JAMOVI 2.2.2 was used to determine possible differences in the responses.

3. Results

3.1. Identification of Threatened Species of the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula versus Emblematic Worldwide Species

In a first analysis, the results obtained for the endangered fauna from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula are grouped together with the results obtained for emblematic fauna on a global scale. There is a clear difference between the capacity to identify the species assigned to each group. For the threatened fauna from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula the mean value obtained is 0.778 (out of 2), while the mean value for the identification of emblematic species worldwide is 1.883 (out of 2) (

Table 3. Descriptive statistics relating to the identification of threatened species from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula compared to emblematic species at a global level.

Species	Mean	SD
Endangered Species Iberian Peninsula	0.778	0.174
Emblematic Species Worldwide	1.883	0.164

).

Having checked the normality of the data distribution, Student’s t-test was applied to compare means. The p-value is less than 0.001, which indicates that the equality of means must be rejected, so it must be assumed that the participating students of the Degree in Preschool Education can more easily identify the most well-known and mediatic emblematic species than the endangered species from the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula despite the fact that the latter are species that are much closer to the students’ environment.

3.2. Identification of Common Native Species versus Emblematic Worldwide Species

In a second analysis, the group of emblematic fauna on a global scale is maintained and compared, on this occasion, with a group composed of common species present in urban environments, which are relatively abundant and easily observable. As in the previous case, there is a clear difference in the identification of the two types of species. While the mean value obtained for the emblematic fauna is 1.883 (out of 2), the mean value for the nearby common fauna is 0.562 (out of 2) (

Table 4. Descriptive statistics relating to the identification of closer common species versus globally emblematic species.

Species	Mean	SD
Common Species Iberian Peninsula	0.562	0.117
Emblematic Species Worldwide	1.883	0.164

). In this case, the data do not follow a normal distribution, so the non-parametric Wilcoxon test is applied, but as in the previous case, the p-value is less than 0.001. Rejecting the equality of means, we must assume that the students of the Degree in Preschool Education participating in the study identify easier than the more well-known and mediatic emblematic species than the closer common species.

3.3. Identification of Threatened Native Species versus Common Native Species

The third analysis confronts the capacity to identify between threatened Iberian fauna and common Iberian fauna (

Table 5. Descriptive statistics relating to the identification of threatened native species versus common species.

Species	Mean	SD
Endangered Species Iberian Peninsula	0.778	0.174
Common Species Iberian Peninsula	0.562	0.117

). It is observed that for the threatened fauna an average value of 0.778 (out of 2) is obtained. Common species get a value of 0.562 (out of 2). Having checked the normality of the data distribution, Student’s t-test was applied to compare means. The p-value is less than 0.001. This indicates that the equality of means must be rejected. Difference in the identification of both groups of species can be assumed. Future teachers can identify endangered native vertebrates better than common native vertebrates. This could suggest some success on the part of institutions trying to highlight the importance of threatened species, although further research would be needed to confirm this.

3.4. Identification of Species according to Their Taxonomic Group

The fourth analysis of the data requires grouping them according to the five taxonomic categories into which vertebrate animals are usually divided for schooling (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). The values for the identification of each group show that, while for mammals a mean of 1.518 (out of 2) is obtained, for the rest of the groups the mean value is below 1 (

Table 6. Descriptive statistics relating to the identification of species according to taxonomic category.

Vertebrate Group	Mean	SD
Mammals	1.518	0.139
Fishes	0.954	0.234
Reptiles	0.781	0.205
Amphibians	0.731	0.281
Birds	0.425	0.450

). Comparing the means by means of a non-parametric ANOVA test, a p-value of less than 0.001 was obtained, which confirms the significant difference in the identification of the vertebrate groups, with mammals being the best known and birds the worst known.

In addition, to know in detail how the capacity to identify species correctly is distributed. As can be seen, the lowest number of correctly identified species is 11 (out 60 species) and only occurs in one student. Moreover, the highest number of species identified is 28 (out 60 species) and also occurs only in one student. The most frequent number of species identified is 24 (out 60 species), a fact that occurs in 9 students. As can be seen in Figure 2, students, in general, identify less than half of the species proposed during the research.

3.5. Change of Self-Perception in Relation to Their Ability to Identify Species

To find out whether there is a change of perception in relation to their ability to identify vertebrate species, students are asked a before and after the questionnaire: “how many species do you think you can identify?”. They are given an answer scale from 1 to 7 (1 = none, 2 = very few, 3 = few, 4 = quite a few, 5 = many, 6 = almost all, and 7 = all). The pre-test results show a mean value of 3.81 (close to 4), indicating that students believe they are able to identify “quite a few” species (

Table 7. Change in self-perception of ability to identify vertebrate species.

	Mean	SD
Pre-test	3.81	1.272
Post-test	2.74	0.524

). However, the post-test results show a mean value of 2.74, so the value is close to the “few” category (Table 7). To determine the significance of means difference, the Wilcoxon test is applied. Its statistical value is 575 and a p-value is less than 0.001, indicating that we should accept that the difference in means is significant.

To learn more about how the change in self-perception is distributed in relation to the ability to identify vertebrate species, Figure 3 is elaborated. This table shows the frequencies of the different types of variation in self-perception. It can be seen that 32 students decrease their assessment after completing the activity. On the other hand, 19 students maintain their assessment. Finally, two students slightly improve their self-perception.

4. Discussion and Conclusions

The analysis of the answers given by the future preschool teachers shows that there is a greater facility to identify distant or emblematic fauna. Taking the evaluation system established in the methodology as a reference, the emblematic fauna obtains an average value of 1.883 (out of 2). However, there is a great lack of knowledge of the nearby fauna, whether in danger of extinction or common. These results are in agreement with other investigations [31,32,37,38]. In this regard, the finding that endangered species are more recognizable than other common native species is certainly significant, as it means that preschool teachers are aware of some of the local environmental issues, perhaps due to the media activity [51,52].

Another of the relevant data of this work is that the group of mammals are identified with considerable certainty [41], compared to the other groups of vertebrates that are more difficult to identify, and the reason for these low results may be little contact from the preschool teachers with close natural environments [40].

Although the results are in line with the scientific literature cited, the conduct of this study is not without limitations. We must remember that this work focuses on initial results. Thus, it is intended in the future to expand the study sample, repeat the analysis in different academic courses. Also, another line of work that emerges from this study is to compare the results obtained with students from other educational levels and from other regions.

As we have seen, this small-scale pilot study suggests that relationships between the training of teachers in scientific matters and the conservation of nature and sustainable development should be established. In this sense, research similar to the one presented in this article should be developed and become more common in the future. In addition, another option that can be developed in teacher training would be to include more content related to biodiversity in the immediate environment, both in terms of species and their conservation problems. Therefore, this is one of the ways to guarantee the role of education as a fundamental tool for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development.