A novel application of cultural consensus models to evaluate conservation education programs

Area of Science:

• Conservation Education
• Cultural Anthropology
• Wildlife Biology

Background:

• Evaluating conservation education requires culturally appropriate methods.
• Cultural-consensus theory (CCT) offers a framework for assessing shared beliefs.
• Traditional evaluation methods may lack flexibility in diverse educational settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply Cultural-consensus theory (CCT) to evaluate a conservation education program.
• To assess the program's impact on children's knowledge and empathy for the Javan slow loris.
• To explore the utility of free listing and domain analysis in conservation education assessment.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Cultural-consensus theory (CCT) with free lists and domain analysis.
• Collected essays from 580 students across 18 schools before and after the program.
• Analyzed keyword salience and cultural domains related to the Javan slow loris.

Main Results:

• Student knowledge of Javan slow loris ecology and conservation increased from 43% to 76%.
• Domain coherence improved from 22% to 47%, indicating stronger shared understanding.
• Key factors like feeding ecology and ecological role showed significant increases, while human-centric views decreased.

Conclusions:

• CCT methods, including free lists and domain analysis, are effective for evaluating conservation education.
• The program successfully enhanced children's understanding and conservation attitudes towards the Javan slow loris.
• CCT provides a flexible, culturally sensitive alternative to traditional evaluation tools for conservation initiatives.