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Abstract

ABSTRACT

The Effects of a Generation Program on Young Children's Sociability Development and Their Perceived Image of the Elderly

Ka, Hyeon-Sun Advisor: Prof. Seo Hyun, Ed. D Major in Early Childhood Education Graduate School of Education, Chosun University

As an effort to fill the generation gap in today’s aged society, this study purposed to determine whether a generation programcan make a positive change in young children’s perception of the elderly and, furthermore, to examine the effects of the program on young children’s sociability development.

For these purposes, we set research questions as follows. 1. What effects does a generation program have on five-year-old young children’s sociability? 2. What effects does a generation programhave on five-year-old young children’s perceived image of the elderly?

The subjects of this study were 40 five-year-old young children sampled from P and D Childcare Centers at Muan-gun, Jollanam-do, and they were divided into an experimental group (n=19) and a control group (n=21). In the pretest of the experimental group and the control group on their age, area of residence, sociability and perceived image of the elderly, they did not show any significant difference, so the two groups were considered homogeneous. The experiment was conducted through 12 sessions, in which the experimental group had generation program activities and the control group had storytelling or free choice activities on the same themes in classroom. As to rating scales used in this study, sociability developmentwas measured with the sociability development scale revised and supplemented by Kim Sook-gyeong (1989), which consists of 32 questions on 4 sub-factors, namely, cooperativeness, understanding of others, autonomy, and interaction with peers. The perceived image of the elderly was tested with the scale used by Kim Hye-sang (2010), which consists of 8 questions easily understandable to young children and on a 5-point Likert scale. Data collected through the pretest and the posttest were processed using SPSS 12.0. Means and standard deviations were calculated, and t-test was performed to analyze differences between the two groups.

The results of this study are as follows. First, the generation program had a positive effect on the children’s sociability development. In the experiment results, the children in the experimental group who participated in the generation program showed significantly higher overall sociability than those in the control group. In addition, the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group in the sub-factors of sociability, namely, cooperativeness, understanding of others, autonomy, and interaction with peers.

Second, the generation program had a positive effect on the children’s perceived image of the elderly. In the experiment results, the children in the experimental group who participated in the generation program showed a significantly better perceived image of the elderly than those in the control group. That is, the young children who participated in the generation integration programperceived elders more positively.

In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that a generation program has a positive effect on young children’s sociability and their perceived image of the elderly. Accordingly, the active educational use of effective generation programs to resolve the generation gap between young children and elders is expected to enhance young children’s sociability and improve their perceived positive imag e of the aged.