• Journal of Science Education
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.490-508
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• 2014

The objective of this study is to describe the status of operation of after-school science activities in elementary school and offer suggestions for the activation of such programs by targeting parents who participated in an open class, and examining their recognition of the program. To achieve this, announcement sheets for after-school science activities in 809 elementary schools in Gyeonggi-do were collected to examine the class names, class fees, material costs, and management status of class hours. In addition, 36 parents who participated in an open class were targeted, and their recognition of the program was analyzed using the results of a questionnaire. A draft of the questionnaire was developed by revising and complementing the 2013 customer satisfaction survey of the living science class of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity. The final questionnaire was completed by consulting 1 science education professor and 12 Master's candidates in science education for advice on the validity of the questionnaire content and terminology. The collected data were analyzed using a statistical program. Based on the results of the study, the following suggestions are proposed for the activation of after-school science activities in elementary school. First, the needs of education consumers (parents) should be identified and reflected persistently to activate after-school science activities in elementary school. Second, a science program that reflects the demand and choice of education consumers (parents) needs to be developed for the continuous activation of after-school science activities in elementary school.