• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.821-827
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three kinds of horticultural activities (HAs) on attention concentration of elementary students. We selected 20 students using a Wee Class counseling office at J elementary school in Yeongcheon, and divided them into experimental and control groups composed of ten students each. The experimental group participated in three HAs including flower arrangement, planting, and pressed flower. Each HA was composed of three sessions and a session proceeded for a week. For the examinations of attention concentration, two groups responded the questionnaires before a week of the first session and at the end of the 9th session, only the experimental group participated in the measurement using grid by Harris before a week of the first session and at the end of each HA every week. The results of questionnaire survey showed that the scores of problem in emotion and problem in controlling, and the total score decreased 9.2, 7.8, and 19.0 points, respectively (P < 0.05), indicating that the attention concentration of the experimental group improved compared with the control. In the measurements using grid by Harris, the flower arrangement, planting, and pressed flower activities increased the scores by 2.22, 2.49, and 2.41 points compared with the pre-HA of 6.00, respectively (P < 0.05), that means the improvements of attention concentration. At the post-HAs, the flower arrangement, planting, and pressed flower activities increased the scores by 1.12, 1.39 and 1.31 points compared with the control group of 7.10, respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the indoor HAs improved the attention and concentration of elementary students irrespective of kind of activities.