This study is to understand the reality of local children center which has quantitatively increased by demand for local children. Currently, the local children centers are recognized as Comprehensive Child Welfare Services for children's healthy devel...
This study is to understand the reality of local children center which has quantitatively increased by demand for local children. Currently, the local children centers are recognized as Comprehensive Child Welfare Services for children's healthy development to protect for local children, to provide education, wholesome fun and entertainment, to link between children's guardians and local community and so on according to article 16 of revised Child welfare law in Jan.2004.
This study is to grasp personal, familial, school-related and children center-related features of children joining local children center and to scrutinize their user satisfaction for using the overall services of local children centers. Also this study is to grasp how the user satisfaction at physical environment, programs, teachers, and peer groups influences the general, academic, social and familial self-esteem in the period of children-adolescence. Based on the result of this research, this study is for increasingthe level of quality of local children center that has been in quantitative expansion.
The survey is conducted by 190 children who are mostly 4~6 grade elementary school students joining 13 local children centers placed in Haman, Gyungnam, and integrated Changwon (Masan, Changwon, and Jinhae). The collected data is analyzed by SPSS 15.0 for Windows. The method of frequency and percentage was used to understand configuring distribution according to subjects'general characteristic, school-related factors, and local children center. Correlation analysis by Pearsonis used to explore correlation between user satisfaction and user's self-esteem. Also by multiple linear regression analysis, this study draws following conclusions about the influence of user satisfaction on user's self-esteem.
First, in general features of children using local children center, there is higher proportion of broken family such as single-parent family, grandparents and grandsons family, and mixed family. Also in the subjective perception of familial economic level, they regard themselves as the middle class even though they are actually in the lower-income group. In the features related to school, the level of the subjects' intimacy and respect for school teachers is below average, butthe subjects have more than five friends and intimacy with them are very good.
Second, according to the result of research on correlation between user satisfaction and user's self-esteem, their satisfaction on physical environment, teacher and peer group becomes higher, and also general, social and familial self-esteem become higher. However, only academic self-esteem becomes lower.
Third, overall user satisfaction has a significant influence on general self-esteem and familial self-esteem, especially the higher the user satisfaction about teacher in local children center is, the higher the subject's self-esteem is. That is, teachers in local children center have the most significant factor on children's self-esteem.
The implication of the research is, firstly, that children improve their general self-esteem by increasing satisfaction for themselves as positively performing their roles or challenge implementation by the interaction of teachers and other children. In the case of dual-earner parents, children usually have insufficient communication with their parents engaged in the busy walks of life from morning until late at night so they have usually emotional discontent. However, they increase their self-esteem by making intimacy relationship with teachers in center.
Second, they increase their social self-esteem by listening to what friends say or having leadership at various activities in local children center.
Third, the various activities such as field trips, camps, counseling, psychologicalemotional treatment programs and art and physical education activity provided by children center, so probably children have more interests on local children center than school and school records.
Also, teacher is the most significant factor to affect children's self-esteem among many resources and factors. Thus the policy of differential support according to assessment of facilities should be carefully considered to improve poor environment for teachers.
In sum, local children center should have an appropriate environment to raise local children as healthy adults by forming high self-esteem through teacher's warm support and professional guidance.