The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the art activities based on nature experiential activities on the artistic expression capabilities and the creativeness of children. The following research problems were set.
First, what are the...
The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the art activities based on nature experiential activities on the artistic expression capabilities and the creativeness of children. The following research problems were set.
First, what are the effects of the art activities based on nature experiential activities on the artistic expression capabilities of children?
Second, what are the effects of the art activities based on nature experiential activities on the creativeness of children?
The subjects of this study were 32 five‐year‐old children in S and G Kindergarten in Y city in Jeollanam‐do. They were placed to experimental group and control group respectively. The experiments have been performed 18 times twice a week in average for 8 weeks. The experimental group was given the art expression activities through nature experiential activities and the control group was given general art activities. The test tool for the study was ‘Children’s Comprehensive Creativeness Test (KㅡCCTYC)’ by Jeon Kyung‐won (2000)‘ and the test was given to small groups (n=3~4) and to each individual. The pre and post test results of the experimental group and the control group were compared and analyzed with t‐test using SPSS program.
Followings are the summary of the results of this study.
First, the experimental group showed higher score in art expression than the control group. However there was no statistically significant difference in ‘Color 1’, the element of symbol level, ‘Color 2’, the element of search level and ‘Imagination’ the element of artistic value. Therefore we need to make a well‐balanced program to improve all the sub factors of art expression capabilities and provide it as a long‐term project.
Second, the experimental group showed higher score in overall creativeness including the sub factors such as fluency, flexibility and originality than the control group. However, there was no statistically significant difference in ‘Imagination’, an element of the creativeness. We need to consider the content of the activities, various materials and tools to improve their ‘imagination’ when configuring the art activities based on nature experiential activities.
The followings are suggested to help the field application of the study results reviewing the limitations of the study.
First, as this study was performed only on the children in limited area, it is difficult to generalize the result. Therefore, we need to perform various studies including various institutions and the children with different age.
Second, as this study was a quantitative study performed for relatively short‐time to identify the effects of the art activities based on nature experiential activities on the artistic expression capabilities and the creativeness of children, it has limitation in identifying the changes in the attitudes and capabilities of children during the course. Therefore long‐term qualitative further studies should be made.
Third, although the children were interested in the art activities based on nature experiential activities and participated in them actively and the teachers came to perceive the importance of these activities, they complained about the insufficient preparation and lack of background knowledge. Thus it is needed to develop teaching materials and provide training programs for the teachers.
Fourth, as this study restricted on the art expression capabilities and creativeness in verifying the effects of the program, further studies regarding the social capabilities and changes in the attitudes and capabilities should be followed.