Recognizing the importance of welfare education during infancy and in order to educate children so that they have a mind thoughtful to others and change their consciousness based on the mind, the present study purposed to develop a welfare education p...
Recognizing the importance of welfare education during infancy and in order to educate children so that they have a mind thoughtful to others and change their consciousness based on the mind, the present study purposed to develop a welfare education program that implants the consciousness of welfare in young children and to test the effectiveness of the program. For this purpose, we applied the developed program to 30 five year old preschoolers at Y Kindergarten in Gyeongju City twice during a period of 8 days.
The welfare education program for young children was composed of 8 themes: Theme 1 - If I have a disability (understanding of disability); Theme 2 - Our grandmothers and grandfathers (respect for the old); Theme 3 - Toy hospital (frugality); Theme 4 - We all be friends with one another (overcoming discrimination); Theme 5 - Funeral for a sparrow (respect for life); Theme 6 - I can help (sharing); Theme 7 - A blind person and a snail (experience in disability); and Theme 8 - understanding of multi culture (multi culture understanding).
From examining differences between before and after the application of the welfare education program were obtained results as follows.
From the results of the application of the program, we found that it is important to attempt welfare education at young ages because the effect of education is high in infancy and that young children’s change of consciousness and understanding are very fast when there are activity materials for practicing what they have learned. The activity material of ‘A Blind Person and a Snail’ was attached.
Suggestions for the application of programs are as follows. First, programs should be grouped into those producing effects in a short period and those in a long period.
Second, in our study, the activities of the welfare education program were done mostly within the kindergarten, but we need programs that connect education and life (experiences, home, fields).
Third, learning materials should be developed, and teachers need training.
Fourth, there are various tools for evaluating the effects of welfare education programs, but they have limitations in reliability and validity. Thus, we need to develop scientific scales.