Causing a Flap: using chicken-based research to transform education, poultry production and human well-being

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The initial media reaction to our project was scathing: we "caused a flap"[1,2]. Yet our work on the AHRC 'Cultural and Scientific Perceptions of Human-Chicken Interactions' and AHRC-GCRF 'Going Places' projects has demonstrated that chickens are meaningful and inspirational for diverse segments of society. By integrating the results of this research our project will reveal the hidden social and cultural impact of chickens through time and space, highlighting this message for a range of audiences.This new project "Causing a Flap: using chicken-based research to transform education, inform the poultry industry and enhance human well-being" will maximise the legacy and impact of the results of our research: academic research produces results that are frequently of value to large proportions of society, but they are not always accessible. We will translate our findings in ways that will reflect the breadth of their significance and reveal the surprisingly diverse role of the chicken in humanity's past, present and future.To realise the full potential of the results of our previous study, this will:1. Increase understanding of the link between human and chicken diet, health and environmental sustainability.2. Enhance cross-curriculum educational practice through a common medium, the chicken, in the UK and Africa.3. Highlight the role of human-chicken interactions in transforming the lives of vulnerable people.Our projects have demonstrated that human and chicken health and well-being are inextricably linked in areas such as diet, zoonotic disease and environmental sustainability. These results have implications for industry and consumers and we will bring our findings to an industry workshop (British Poultry Council, Moy Park), working with them to develop arts and humanities research-informed policy on chicken sustainability.We have also shown how our interdisciplinary chicken-based research can be translated to teach across the curriculum and enhance learning experience for school-aged children. At present this has only been applied in one Key Stage 3 pilot. Through collaboration with educators in schools, academies, home-educating and international learning environments we have established there is a desire for a scheme like this (See Context 2)[3,4,5,6]. We will work with educators to co-create freely accessible resources targeted to suit different learning styles, abilities and ages.Unexpectedly, our research identified circumstances in which chickens have transformed the lives of some of the most vulnerable members of society, including dementia patients and isolated elderly individuals, underprivileged and additional-needs schoolchildren and groups in Ethiopia, one of the least developed countries, for whom the chicken is unrecognised for its cultural and social significance. Out partners Equal Arts, HenPower and groups working in education and museums in Ethiopia will be brought together by our project to enhance these unexpected benefits through educational and exhibition resources, and showcase them in a documentary film.Chickens are valuable to so many people around the world, and through our research this is becoming increasingly apparent. This new project will demonstrate the value of our research and ensure its impact continues to bring benefits for the widest possible groups of people.[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2425213/Outrage-academics-handed-2m-study-humans-interact-CHICKENS.html [2] http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/430507/Chicken-study-costing-1-9million-of-taxpayers-funds-causes-a-flap[3] https://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/level3-udeip-op-crossley.pdf [4] http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/zooarchpage1 [5] https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/article/implementing-a-cross-curricular-approach [6] https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/research/warwickcommission/futureculture/finalreport/warwick_commission_report_2015.pdf