• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
• /
• v.12 no.5
• /
• pp.17-45
• /
• 2016

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a young children's happiness program in relation with the Nuri curriculum on young children's happiness and self-esteem. Study subjects included 37 children aged 5 (experimental group 20, comparative group 17) enrolled in A day care center and D day care center located in K district, Seoul. As for the research procedure, an experiment was conducted 48 times in 18 weeks, and the experimental group carried out the children's happiness program linked with the Nuri curriculum. In contrast, the comparative group conducted general activities focusing on the subjects according to the Nuri curriculum. Study results show that there was a significant difference amongst 9 sub-domains related to young children's happiness (health, emotion, immersion, recognition and achievement, parent-child relationship, teacher-child relationship, peer relationship, spirituality, life satisfaction) and 3 sub-domains related to self-esteem (start and spirit of independence, sociality emotionality, academic achievement). Results of this study prove that the children's happiness program in relation with the Nuri curriculum is effective for increasing young children's happiness and self-esteem, and could be used as preliminary data for the possibility of a happiness program in early childhood education settings and happiness education in the future.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.157-176
• /
• 2014

A total of 378 $4^{th}$ and $5^{th}$ grade elementary school students (194 boys and 184 girls) participated in a study investigating the direct and indirect effects (through self-esteem and/or achievement motivation) of children's perceptions of parental expectations on school happiness. First, parental expectations did not have a direct effect on children's levels of school happiness. Second, parental expectations did not have an indirect effect on children's school happiness through self-esteem. Children who perceived higher levels of parental expectations showed higher levels of self-esteem, but the path from children's self-esteem to school happiness was not significant. Third, parental expectations had an indirect effect on children's levels of school happiness through achievement motivation. Children who perceived higher levels of parental expectations showed higher levels of achievement motivation, and children with higher levels of achievement motivation reported higher levels of school happiness. Finally, parental expectations indirectly influenced children's school happiness through self-esteem and achievement motivation. These findings suggest that both environmental and individual factors need to be considered together to more comprehensively explain children's levels of school happiness.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.105-122
• /
• 2020

Objective: The study aimed to examine the impact of a supportive school environment on children's prosocial behavior by investigating the sequential mediating effects of children's self-esteem and happiness. Methods: Results of the study were obtained by analysing data collected from 633 nine-year-old children in the 10th wave of the Panel Study on Korean Children(2017). The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and significance of mediated pathways using SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS macro 3.3. Results: First, children's self-esteem did not have mediational effects with respect to a supportive school environment and children's prosocial behavior. Second, children's happiness had mediational effects with respect to a supportive school environment and children's prosocial behavior. Lastly, a supportive school environment affects children's self-esteem, which affects children's happiness, thereby promoting children's prosocial behavior. Conclusion/Implications: In order to promote children's prosocial behavior, we should put emphasis on developing a supportive school environment, and increasing children's self-esteem and happiness. It is important that teachers treat children and classmates treat each other with a warm attitude so that they can value themselves and feel happiness in their lives.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.133-148
• /
• 2021

Objective: This study is to confirm the effect of mothers' perception of children's rights on the happiness of infants under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Methods: This study was conducted on 383 mothers with children aged 3 to 5 attending daycare centers in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Results: First, the difference in perception of children's rights according to the mother's general background did not show a significant difference in the mother's perception of children's rights, and the child's sense of happiness showed a statistically significant difference in the mother's education and child's gender. Second, there was a positive correlation between the mother's perception of child rights and the child's sense of happiness. Third, the effect of mothers' perception of child rights on children's happiness was significant, and in the sub-factors, it was found that the perception of participation rights had a significant effect on children's happiness. Conclusion/Implications: In this study, it was confirmed that mothers' perception of children's rights is important in promoting the happiness of early childhood children. Through this study, we would like to raise the need for parental education based on education on children's rights for mothers' awareness and practice of children's rights.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.129-144
• /
• 2009

This study investigated Korean elementary school children's happiness by gender and grade and by attendance in after-school programs during weekdays and weekends. Participants were 3,608 children in Korean provincial areas except Jeju-do; they responded to the Happiness Scale developed by the researchers. Data were analyzed by frequency, percent, and t-test. Results were (1) children's happiness level was high; girls' happiness level was higher than boys'. As they moved up in school grade, happiness level decreased. (2) Their attendance in after-school programs during weekdays and weekends decreased their happiness level in leisure and extra academic activity, but it increased happiness in school/community life and sibling relations. Conclusions were that reduction in the amount of children's after-school programming would increase children's happiness.

• Human Ecology Research
• /
• v.59 no.1
• /
• pp.71-82
• /
• 2021

This study examined the structural relationships among parent's play participation, children's playfulness, self-regulation and happiness. In this Study, subjects were 274 children who were 4 through 5 years old. The participants included 274 preschoolers' parents and their teachers in D city. The parents completed questionnaires regarding parent's play participation with their children and children's self-regulation. The teachers completed questionnaires regarding preschoolers' happiness and playfulness. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation analysis and mediation analysis based on structural equation modeling with SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0 program. Also, specific indirect effects were analyzed using AMOS user-defined estimand function. The primary results of this study were as follows. 1) The parent's play participation had an influence upon children's playfulness and self-regulation. 2) The children's playfulness had an influence upon children's self-regulation and happiness. 3) The children's self-regulation had an influence upon children's happiness. 4) Between the parent's play participation and children's happiness were mediated by the children's playfulness and self-regulation. This study revealed that parent's play participation, children's playfulness and self-regulation need to be considered simultaneously to explain the level of the children's happiness. The results highlight the structural relationships among parent's play participation, children's playfulness, self-regulation and happiness.

• Human Ecology Research
• /
• v.62 no.1
• /
• pp.47-58
• /
• 2024

This study examined the mediating effect of children's school adjustment on the relationship between a creative school environment and children's happiness. For this purpose, an analysis was performed of data from the 12th Panel Study on Korean Children conducted in 2019. The participants were 1,393 fifth-grade elementary school students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0 programs. The principal results were as follows. Firstly, there were significant positive correlations among creative school environment, children's school adjustment, and happiness. Secondly, the creative school environment significantly affected children's school adjustment and happiness. Thirdly, children's school adjustment had a positive effect on their happiness. Fourthly, the creative school environment had an indirect effect on children's happiness through school adjustment. The results thus demonstrate that school is a social environment that strongly influences children's happiness. Therefore, to improve children's school happiness, it is essential to consider the relationship between a creative school environment and school adjustment.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.433-445
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of children's temperament, parent-child communication, peer relationships on children's cognitive and affective happiness. The participants consisted of 396 elementary school students aged 10-13 dwelling in Jeonbuk province. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics, t-test, regression analysis using the SPSS 18.0 program. The most salient results from this study were as follows: first, there were statistically significant differences in the children's happiness according to academic performance and family's economic level; children who considered themselves to have good grades and to have a higher standard of living were happier than other groups. However, there was no significant difference in children's happiness in relation to gender. Second, children's temperament(sociability, activity), parent-child open communication and peer relationships were positively associated with the children's cognitive and affective happiness. Children's emotional temperament, parent-child problem communication were negatively associated with the children's cognitive and affective happiness. Third, as the results of regression analysis, parent-child open communication, children's temperament(activity, sociability), peer relationships were considered to be the most influential factors in explaining cognitive happiness. And parent-child open communication, parent-child problem communication, children's temperament(activity) were influential factors in explaining affective happiness. In conclusion, children's happiness is critically affected not only by internal variables but also environmental ones such as parents and peers.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.177-195
• /
• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of early educator's psychological exhaustion and happiness on adapting ability of children in early education settings. Two hundred ten early educators and six hundred thirty children were selected as subjects of this study and were requested to participate in a survey. The results of this study were as follows: First, as a result of analyzing the relationship between early educator's psychological exhaustion and happiness as well as children's adaptability on education facility, higher psychological exhaustion and lower happiness were related to lower children's adaptability on education facility. Second, as a result of comparing comparative impact that psychological exhaustion and happiness has on children's adaptability on education facility, psychological exhaustion of the teacher impacts negatively on children's adaptability on education facility and happiness of the teacher did not significantly impact children's adaptability on education facility. This research is expected to be used as foundational data that helps to recognize the importance of psychological exhaustion and happiness of the teacher and could be used to develop various programs that support teachers to recover from burnout and to increase happiness.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.127-144
• /
• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relative influences of senior elementary school children's communication level with their fathers and peer competence on their happiness. Methods: The subjects of this study were 310 fifth and sixth grade students attending elementary school in Jeollanam-do. They responded to the level of communication with their fathers, peer competence, and happiness. For the data, t-test, Pearson's correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis were performed. Results: First, there were some statistically significant differences according to gender differences in self-esteem and a sub-factor of happiness and the differences according to grades in open-type communication and problem-type communication. Second, it was found that children's happiness was highly correlated with communication with their fathers and peer competence. Third, the factors having the greatest relative influence on overall happiness were in the order of peer competence, open-type communication, problem-type communication, and gender. The variables influencing and the order of relative influence differed according to sub-factors of happiness. Conclusion/Implications: The present study revealed that peer competence has a significant impact on children's happiness. The results of this study suggest that research and development of convergent programs that can improve communication with fathers, peer competence, and children's happiness are necessary.