This study aims at examining the level of the formation of children's death concept in the areas of universality, irreversibility and nonfunctionality with reference to children's cognitive developmental level and at finding out the effect of telling ...
This study aims at examining the level of the formation of children's death concept in the areas of universality, irreversibility and nonfunctionality with reference to children's cognitive developmental level and at finding out the effect of telling stories concerning death on the formation of children's death concept.
The subjects of this study were 180 children selected from Lila kindergarten and the second and the fourth grade students in Hanjin Elementary School.
A revised version of Speece & Brent questionnaire on death concept (1984) was used to measure the level of formation of children's death concept Six stories developed by the author was used as educational material.
The results of this study are as follows;
First, the level of the formation of children's death concept increases with grade and the increase is most distinctive between the second and the fourth grade students of elementary school. But the development of death concept reveals in the areas of universality and nonfunctionality not in irreversibility.
Second, no sex difference is shown in the level of the formation of children's death concept the developmental by level of death concept is not related with the level of conservation acquisition.
Third, the intervention effect of story-telling on the formation of children's death-concept is significant and shows long term effect after a month period of time.
Fourth, the intervention effect of story-telling on death is stronger in the areas of universality than that in the areas of nonfunctionality and irreversibility. The intervention effect shows no difference by sex, grade and the cognitive developmental level measured by conservation acquisition.