BHARCSA Textbook for School Communities — Teacher Edition
Children in India frequently share space with free-ranging animals — in streets, neighbourhoods, school surroundings, markets, parks and residential communities. Most interactions are peaceful and uneventful, but misunderstandings between humans and animals can sometimes lead to fear, injury, or conflict.
This textbook, designed by BHARCS, helps teachers understand how animals communicate, how human behaviour affects safety, how children can navigate shared environments safely, and how schools can reduce unsafe interactions. Its goal is not to encourage children to handle or approach unfamiliar animals — it focuses on practical behavioural safety, calm decision-making, and conflict prevention.
Designed for: primary school teachers · teacher educators · school coordinators · community safety trainers.
What's inside
The textbook is organised in five parts across sixteen chapters, plus a set of teacher resources.
- Part I · Understanding Shared Spaces — humans and animals in shared environments; why animals react; understanding fear, distance and space.
- Part II · Practical Safety Skills — moving safely around animals; what to do when an animal approaches; safe and unsafe interactions; what to do if you fall; situations to avoid.
- Part III · Understanding Animal Communication — how animals communicate before conflict; safe behaviours when animals ask for space; the signals dogs give; human signals that reduce conflict; child-friendly safety rules.
- Part IV · Community and Public Health — first response after injuries; vaccination and sterilisation; building safer school communities.
- Part V · Teacher Resources — learning games, rhymes, classroom posters, take-home handouts, and demonstration videos.
Download
This textbook is for educational and training purposes for school communities, teacher-training institutes, and community-safety programmes. Any reproduction needs permission from BHARCS and due credit to BHARCS.
A web edition, reworked in the BHARCS visual style, is in preparation.