This study set out to understand the state of young children's social and emotional behavior in nature experience activities. For that purpose, it was conducted a qualitative research with participant observation and interview and was set the followin...
This study set out to understand the state of young children's social and emotional behavior in nature experience activities. For that purpose, it was conducted a qualitative research with participant observation and interview and was set the following research questions:
Research Question : What are the state of young children's social and emotional behavior through the nature experience activities?
The participants of research were two teachers and 25 young children(14 five-year-old boys and 11 five-year-old girls) of K kindergarten in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam Province. They participated in total 30 sessions of nature experience activities, three times per week from March 29 to June 18, 2010.
Collected data include the recorded video film of the young children's nature experience activities and the transcripts, interviews, the teachers' journals, observation notes, and field notes. Data analysis were involved careful reading according to the topic analysis of the qualitative research and categorization based on the collected data. The "triangulation method" was employed to increase objectivity and reliability.
As a result, the young children's social and emotional behavior through the nature experience activities were categorized into three categories, which were "realizing the sense of existence in nature," "sympathizing with friends and nature," and "developing pleasure and aesthetic sentiments." The subareas include "adjusting the mind," "taking interest in life," "forming relationships developed by nature," "developing curiosity," "leading a happy kindergarten life," and "looking at things with a beautiful mind."
Through the nature experience activities, the young children were able to control their inside, interact with their friends, and improve their social skills through active interactions. Nature served as the educational field for them to fulfill their curiosity about surrounding and objects. The young children had stability and pleasant experiences through nature, which became a natural environment for them to develop an aesthetic sentiment.