The main goal of this study is to develop nature-oriented child educare program to help children have sound growth. Through applying theraplay, which fosters trust in others and self-esteem and positively influences on children's interaction and self-...
The main goal of this study is to develop nature-oriented child educare program to help children have sound growth. Through applying theraplay, which fosters trust in others and self-esteem and positively influences on children's interaction and self-development, to educare program, I tried to develop new educare program and verify its effects.
Theraplay, a new approach to treat children's problems for a rather short term, avoids the use of commercialized materials and toys. Also, it has the characteristic of the nature-oriented program focusing on natural now-here play since it can be applied as the educare activity through physical play based on fun and various activities.
In another aspect, theraplay can help all the children grow healthy in safe and protective environment including those who are under danger and difficulties, which are caused by changes of social structure and family structure and can harm their growth, and those who show problematic personality. Theraplay program is an educare program aiming at the treatment and prevention, and accords with play therapies based on an ecological view of the world and activities to let children have childlike personality.
I conducted the followings to achieve a goal of the study.
First, search for related theories to develop nature-oriented child educare program through an approach to play therapies and program development based on the theoretical evidence.
Second, effect verification of nature-oriented child educare program through developed play therapies.
The theme of programs is chosen based upon play therapy theory and the preceded study on nature-oriented child educare program, and the contents of the program is made by that. The program is conducted by daily child educare program is composed of indoor elective activities, chatting, making snacks, outdoor activities, gardening, walking, field trips and child educare activities through play therapies which are conducted by me as a main therapist.
An experiment design through before and after controlled subjects design was used to verify the effect of a nature-oriented child educare program and 46 children subjects under 6 years old, 23 experimental subjects and 23 controlled subjects, were included. To analyze collected data, analysis of covariance was used to verify differences of experiment results between experiment subjects and controlled subjects, and measure nature-oriented attitude and knowledge of children participated in the experiment to verify programs effects. Also, video analysis of child educare and quality analysis of activity results were conducted to verify the program's effects proved by children's interaction and changes of activities. After comparing nature-oriented attitudes and test outcomes, which were produced by a knowledge measure tool, of experimental subjects and controlled subjects, little differences were witnessed.
In controlled subjects' case, after comparing before and after test results, I could identify that the program's effects were more prominent in cognitive and activity area than knowledge, which are composing nature-oriented attitude and knowledge of children.
Also, materials, which analyzed tapes that recorded children's daily educare program, activity results, and data identifying changes of children's interactions and activities which were reported by parents at the end of programs, prove effects of the program. I could identify that Nature-oriented child educare program through play therapies has enough validity to be applied to child educare. I believe that it can provide basic data with further studies as a model. However, we still need to verify its long-term effects and develop test protocols to measure children's nature-oriented attitude and knowledge.