Identifying the foci of mission statements of the zoo and aquarium community

ABSTRACT

Zoos and Aquariums are increasingly being called upon to engage in conservation education to advance conservation goals and justify the keeping of captive animals. Further, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) requires that organizations include both conservation and education in their missions. Our research compared the mission statements of AZA-accredited zoos from 2004 to 2014 to assess how the collective goals of the community have changed. We found that conservation education has become a prominent goal within the zoo community. We analyzed the conservation education language used in all AZA-accredited organization's mission statements, and found that the majority focused on inspiration and connection, which are difficult to measure. We contend that a mission statement that reflects the organization's activities will serve as a stronger guiding force, improve the organization's ability to meet its goals, and promote the organization's value in the community. We recommend a shift toward skill-building and action-oriented language, which can be evaluated and may better facilitate behavior change. We suggest the best organizational missions strike a balance between adherence to community standards and reflect individuality, as a unique mission will better match institutional resources and strengths.

KEYWORDS:

• Zoo
• mission statements
• conservation education
• conservation
• aquarium

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Erica Buckwalter (Naturalist Instructor, Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA), Marti Copeland (Director of Education, Dallas Zoo, Dallas, Texas, USA), and Jenn Idema (Doctoral Student, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA) for their feedback about the rewritten mission statements and measureable objectives.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Patricia Patrick is an assistant professor of methodology at Columbus State University. Her research focuses on the importance of informal science education and the relationship between communication and science literacy. She is specifically interested in family learning in informal environments. She has conducted research at the Houston Zoo (Houston, Texas, USA) and Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin, Germany) and in Borneo, Malaysia. Her most recent research project is focused on family learning during health fairs.

Susan Caplow is an assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of Montevallo. Dr. Caplow’s research focuses on how people interact with conservation interventions (including policies, projects, or education) and how those interactions can lead to environmental/social change that supports conservation efforts. She has conducted research in the US, Tanzania, Belize, Sri Lanka, and Hungary. Her most recent research project examines how environmental values, beliefs, and norms are communicated in animal-themed education programs in North Carolina.

ORCID

Patricia G. Patrick http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0520-1306