From fear to care: The role of entomological dissection in shaping students’ attitudes toward insects

Abstract

Students often express fear, aversion, and disgust toward insects, which can reduce their engagement in biology education and limit interest in biodiversity conservation. Such negative emotions may also hinder the acceptance of content highlighting the ecological importance of these organisms. This study examined the effects of two instructional approaches, physical dissection and video-based dissection of cockroaches, on students’ attitudes, emotions, and behavioral intentions toward insects. A total of 169 primary and secondary school students participated and were divided into three groups: physical dissection (E/P), video dissection (E/V), and a control group (C) receiving traditional instruction without dissection. Pre- and post-tests measured fear, willingness to protect insects, and openness to insect consumption. Both E/P and E/V groups showed a significant reduction in fear and disgust (p ≤ 0.05), with the strongest effect in the E/P group. Willingness to protect insects increased significantly only among primary school students after the intervention (p= 0.033). Regarding insect consumption, a significant positive shift occurred only in the E/P group (p ≤ 0.05), while no change was observed in the control group (p ≥ 0.05). These results indicate that even short-term experiential interventions can reduce negative emotions and promote pro-environmental attitudes. However, hands-on activities appear to have a stronger affective impact than video-based methods, especially in shaping conservation intent and openness to entomophagy. The findings underscore the importance of choosing teaching strategies that address both cognitive and emotional aspects of science learning.