Effects of an Experience-Based Economic Education Program on Young Children's Economic Concepts and Purchasing Behavior

체험 중심 경제교육 프로그램이 유아의 경제개념과 구매행동에 미치는 영향

This study developed an experience-based economic education program and examined its effects on young children's economic concepts and purchasing behavior. Subjects were 60 5-year-old kindergarteners assigned to an experimental or a control group. Instruments for pre- and post-tests were the Economic Concept Task (Laney, 1995) and the Purchasing Behavior Task (Jang, 2004). Experimental group children participated in the economic education program for 5 weeks; control group children listened to economic stories. Differences between pre- and post-test in the experimental group showed that the economic education program was effective in development of concepts of scarcity, opportunity cost, resource/production, goods/services, and complements/substitutes. Children's purchasing behavior changed partially after application of the program.