초록
The purpose of this study is to classify playground types according to the physical characteristics of playgrounds in child care facilities, to analyze the needs of care-givers and to evaluate the adequacy of playgrounds according to playground types. The specific areas discussed in this study were the evaluation of the adequacy in the physical characteristics of playgrounds for children's outdoor play activities by the care-givers, who assist in the outdoor play activities of children and manage safety in the playground, and a report on playground requirements of them. Data was collected from field survey carried out to investigate the physical characteristics of playgrounds of 21 child care facilities. This survey incorporated a structured-questionnaire for the purpose of evaluating the adequacy of the physical characteristics of playgrounds (location and size of the playground, play equipments, the composition of play areas, ground covers, and location of sidewalk in the playground) by the 181 care-givers from the facilities and investigating the needs of them. The major results showed the following. 1) In field survey, it was observed that while the location and the size of the playgrounds varied widely, ground cover, play equipments, and the composition of play area turned out to be identical, regardless of the location and the size of the playgrounds. 2) The playgrounds were classified into five types according to the number of children and the size of the playground. The five types include A-type as a large-scale facility/smallsize playground, B-type as a small-scale facility/large-size playground, C-type as a small-scale facility/small-size playground, D-type as a middle-scale facility/large-size playground, and E-type as a large-scale facility/large-size playground. 3) The adequacy of the physical characteristics of playground in the D-type was evaluated to be higher than that of the other types. The adequacy of the C-type playground was evaluated to be lower than that of the other types in terms of size and the composition of play areas within the playground. 4) The care-givers of the D-type and the E-type playground expressed a desire to install various play equipments, while the care-givers of the C-type playground did not wish to install play equipment. 5) Various outdoor play areas were needed in the D-type playground.
