Education – A Powerful Tool
Effective education remains our most powerful tool for achieving long-term change within our communities. It provides an opportunity for changed motivations and changed internal control (i.e. I want to, I know how to and I know what the benefits will be). The principles behind an effective education program are always the same whether it be for dog poo, cigarette butts or dumped rubbish.
Effective education requires:
- a good understanding of the issue
- being clear about who we are trying to reach
- knowing what behaviour we are trying to change
- investigating the best ways to make this happen.
The purpose of education is to change people's behaviours. Behaviour change programs:
- are long-term programs
- need to motivate people to feel a sense of responsibility
- need to provide people with the right tools, knowledge and systems to make it easy for them to incorporate the new behaviours into their daily life.
The most effective process is to develop these together, where taking action leads to learning (attitudes, knowledge, skills) and what is learned leads to improved action (behaviour). When the right information and tools are provided, attitude and behaviour change occur simultaneously. This is another reason why providing integrated programs, that address all of these areas, is so important.
When planning your education program it is important to identify exactly what aspect of the dog poo problem you are trying to solve. You might be able to complete this research yourself or need help from existing resources or even a consultant. The research section of this toolkit can help you get started on understanding the problem.
If dog poo is a problem across a range of location types it is best to focus on one or two rather than try to solve them all at once. Over time you can build on what you have achieved and expand the program.
