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http://dx.doi.org/10.14578/jkfs.2019.108.4.655

The Effects of School Forests on Mental Health and Cognition of Elementary Students  

Choi, Seon Hye (Department of Forest Welfare, National Institute of Forest Science)
Lee, Yeonhee (Department of Forest Welfare, National Institute of Forest Science)
Lee, Yoon Joo (Department of Forest Welfare, National Institute of Forest Science)
Publication Information
Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science / v.108, no.4, 2019 , pp. 655-662 More about this Journal
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of school forests on the cognition and mental health of elementary school students. Data were obtained through the surveys of sixth graders in an elementary school in Seoul that took part in the School Forest Project run by Korea Post, the Korea Forest Welfare Institute, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Students were surveyed before and after the creation of green spaces in their schools, and changes in their environmental sensitivity, attitude toward forests, depression, anxiety, and aggression were analyzed. The findings indicated that the creation of green spaces showed significant effects on the students in terms of encouraging them to strengthen their environmental sensitivity, helping them develop more positive attitudes toward forests, and reducing anxiety and physical aggression, which are the subfactors of aggressive behavior. In other words, creating school forests had positive effects on cognition and mental health, reduced bad behavior, and improved attitudes toward nature in children. The findings of this study are significant in that they reinforce the requirement of school forests by indicating the positive effects of school forests on children's cognition and mental health.
Keywords
elementary school; environmental sensitivity; attitudes toward forest; aggression; emotion;
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