- Professor, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia
Dr. Binfet received his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in Educational Psychology and is now a professor in the Faculty of Education at UBC Okanagan. He is the founder and director of UBC's dog therapy program "B.A.R.K." (Building Academic Retention through K9s). In addition to researching the effects of spending time with therapy dogs on university students' well-being, Dr. Binfet researches children and adolescents' conceptualizations of kindness in school. He is the author of the new book "Cultivating Kindness: An Educator's Guide" published by University of Toronto Press.
Experience
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2018–presentAssociate professor, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia
Education
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2000University of British Columbia, Ph.D. Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education
Publications
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2021The importance of client-canine contact in canine-assisted interventions: A randomized controlled trial , Anthrozoos
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2020Stress reduction in law enforcement officers and staff through a canine-assisted intervention, Human Animal Interaction Bulletin
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2019What’s important in canine-assisted intervention teams? An investigation of canine-assisted intervention program online screening tools. , Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
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2018Dogs on campus: Holistic assessment of therapy dogs and handlers for research and community initiatives. , Society & Animals: Journal of Human-Animal Studies
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2018Reducing university students’ stress through a drop-in canine-therapy program. , Journal of Mental Health
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2018When veterinarians support canine therapy: Bidirectional benefits for clinics and therapy programs. , Veterinary Sciences
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2017The effects of group-administered canine therapy on first-year university students’ well-being: A randomized controlled trial. , Anthrozoos
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2016Hounds and homesickness: The effects of an animal-assisted therapeutic intervention for first-year university students. , Anthrozoos
Grants and Contracts
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2021Social and Emotional Learning in the Central Okanagan Public School District
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
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2021Virtual Canine Comfort to Reduce On-Campus Stress
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
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2018Canine Therapy to Support RCMP Constable Well-Being
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
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2017Kindness in Middle School
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Professional Memberships
- International Society for Anthrozoology
Contact John-Tyler for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Research supervision
- Location: Kelowna, BC, Canada
- Website
- X (formerly Twitter): @kindnessprof
- Article Feed
- Joined