• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.41-48
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental factors relating to children's outdoor play and to assess how the residential neighborhood is suitable for play in the perception of parents. Based on a citywide survey of 500 parents of elementary school students in grades 1-4 in Seoul, this empirical study shows that children's outdoor play environments in residential neighborhoods of Seoul have been observed to be overall unsuitable for play activity. Three physical environmental factors (spatial availability, neighborhood attractiveness, and street difficulties) and three social environmental factors (fear of crime, social interactions, and psychological comfort) are related to children's play activity. Five factors, with the exception of the psychological comfort factor, impact the suitability of children's outdoor play environment. Specifically, it is the physical environment, rather than the social environment, that was deemed unsuitable in spite of its impacts. These findings help us understand the current conditions of neighborhood play environments associated with children's play activity. It is necessary to improve parents' perceptions of the play environment and children's play activities by improving the physical environment.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.139-155
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• 2012

This study aimed to glean lessons for desirable early childhood physical education programs by contouring the current paradigms on body or physical activities in the area of early education for young children. It also aimed to analyze their postures while participating in daily activities. The research method for analysis of children's postures while doing daily activities was OWAS(Ovako Working Posture Analysing System) which has been extensively used in ergonomics. Components of data analysis have been redesigned on the basis of information gathered from OWAS with the help of ergonomic experts. The results showed different percentages of children's movements according to activities such as whole class meeting, small group activity and outdoor activity. Small group and outdoor activities can be considered the most desirable physical activities not only for cognitive and social development but also for physical development. And it is recommended to reconstruct the quality and nature of whole class meetings in order to coordinate the physical nature of young children.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.461-472
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to analyze the current status and condition of children's playgrounds in K which parents recognize as in Gyeonggi-do and provide basic data for the qualitative environment for daily outdoor play of young Children. To do so, a survey of 269 parents living in Gyeonggi-do was conducted and reconstructed based on the advanced research related to outdoor play. Also it was evaluated and revised after consultation with 3 children education specialists. The repossessed questionaries were frequency-analyzed with SPSS 20.0 program. The result of the analysis on outdoor playgrounds is in the following. First of all, it was analyzed that parents required 1 or 2 hours for their children to play outdoors in a type of "forest playgrounds." Moreover, they said that it was really important for the children to feel "interesting and funny" during the outdoor play, and they recognized that the play would be helpful for the children's socialization. However, they felt that a risk factor of the outdoor play was "a vehicle risk in streets." Secondly, the study suggested that there were outdoor playgrounds around parents' houses, and a type of the outdoor play was "a playground installed in the apartment complex." Furthermore, most of the parents weren't satisfied with the outdoor play because the apartment neglected the management of the playgrounds, and there were no playing facilities that were good enough to derive children's curiosity and adventurous spirit. The result also showed that most of the children played outdoors with "their mothers," and they participated in indoor activities, especially playing a game or watching TV rather than outdoor activities after attending a children educational institute. Lastly, when it comes to areas of outdoor play to be improved, it was necessary to "expand playgrounds that children can use for each season," build "safe playgrounds" for a type of the outdoor play," provide "playing spaces" for a spatial type, and "control vehicles around the playgrounds and deal with dangerous things" to prevent safety accidents. The result can expand the understanding of outdoor play for Young Children and offer discussions about the relevant organizations and studies.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.175-191
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to investigate the eating behavior and life habits of kindergarten children 5 to 7 years old in Chuncheon area. This study was conducted in December, 1996. Anthropometric indices(height, weight, skinfold thickness, mid-arm circumference) were measured and body mass index(BMI), Rohrer index, arm fat area were calculated to estimate children’s body fatness. Also the eating behavior and life habits were determined tv using questionnaire method. The results were as follows: Body fat rate of the children was almost normal according to Rohrer index and BMI. There was significant difference in birth weight between male and female. The problems of the eating behavior were frequent skipping breakfast and eating-out. The rate of the children who took snacks 2 times a day was 46.9％. Most children tended to take sweet snacks such as ice-cream, chocolates, cookies, and they tended to prefer meats and fishes to vegetables. The rate of breast feeding was 28.3％ and the rate of weaning foods prepared at home was 61.1%. Many children preferred indoor activities such as watching TV, toy furniture play, building block to outdoor activities such as roller-skating, cycling, jogging in their spare time. The rate of the children who took exercise regularly was 15％. Children tended to eat kimbap, fried chicken, ramyeon more frequently in various instant foods. The intake rates of fruit juice and barly tea were relatively high and children's favorite fruits were watermelon and mandarin orange. From this results, skipping breakfast, frequent eating-out and the monotony of food preference appears to cause imbalance in nutrient intakes of the children and to have bad influence on children’s health. Accodgingiy, the comprehensive nutrition education and proper modification program should be needed for the children and their parents to correct the eating behavior and life habits. The reasonable exercise programs are needed to motivate outdoor activities of the children, and the importance of breast feeding and weaning foods should be emphasized to lactating women and pregnant women.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.775-794
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• 2010

This study is to provided a basic model to encourage environment and outdoor play programs. The study was based on the analyses of actual activities performed in two child care centers in Daejeon area and the way in which the programs for outdoor play were related to the environment of the centers. Data were collected through 'The Daily Report of the Outdoor Play Programs: Plan and Evaluation' paper conducted at each center performed from 2007 to 2009. Following Mockwha Choi et al., (2007), the play observed and described by teachers was analyzed to classify play areas and play activities within each area. The places, equipment and, playthings using in each play period were also examined as well as the limitation and inspiration caused by the environment. The results of the study are as follows: 1) Empty and unfilled space tended to generate more types of non-structural play and role-pretend play 2)Adventurous play was rarely observed. More thoughtfully designed physical environments need to be provided for children to experience challenge and adventure through physical activities 3) Outdoor play environment should be suitable for the overall developments of infants and toddlers depending on their activities. A child care specialist should support the design such environment 4) Naturally, the programs of outdoor play will not be identical for all child care centers. Rather, they should go along with the programmatic characters and environmental attributes of each center. Therefore the awareness of teachers and parents as to the importance of must realize of outdoor play should be further increased.

• Proceeding of Spring/Autumn Annual Conference of KHA
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.432-437
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between outdoor play environments and child's play behaviors. The data were collected by this study include field measurement survey, and non-participatory observation from 8 child care centers in Seoul. The field measurement survey were conducted from February 20 to March 20, 2005, whereas non-participatory behavior observation were conducted from June 15 to July 10, 2005. The major results showed the following. 1)Most of child care centers were too small, did not use the adequate surfacing to play various activities, and were made of play equipment setting. 2)Child's play behavior focused on functional play activity and construction play activity. 3)The relationship between outdoor play environments and child's play behaviors showed that small outside play environment with monotonous construction of play setting produced functional play behaviors on children. However, in some cases, despite the small and monotonous play area, diverse play behaviors were observed. These playgrounds at least differed from others in that they provided the place where multi purpose play was possible. This finding shows that multi purpose play areas can be an alternative in small playground environment.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.91-102
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between outdoor play environments and child's play behaviors. The data were collected by this study included field measurement survey, and non-participatory observation from 8 child care centers in Seoul. The field measurement survey were conducted from February 20 to March 20, 2005, whereas non-participatory behavior observation were conducted from June 15 to July 10, 2005. The major results showed the following. 1) Most of child care centers were too small, did not use the adequate surfacing to play various activities, and were made of play equipment setting. 2) Child's play behavior focused on functional play activity and construction play activity. 3) The relationship between outdoor play environments and child's play behaviors showed that small outside play environment with monotonous construction of play setting produced functional play behaviors on children. However, in some cases, despite the small and monotonous play area, diverse play behaviors were observed. These playgrounds at least differed from others in that they provided the place where multi purpose play was possible. This finding shows that multi purpose play areas can be an alternative in small playground environment.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.855-875
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to suggest a guideline for outdoor play settings in child care centers. From March to July, 2005, data were collected from 223 directors at child care centers through a structured questionnaire, field measurement survey and non-participatory observation in seventeen child care centers in Seoul and Daejeon. The statistical methods for analysing data were frequency, percentage, mean, $X^2$ and F-test. The results showed as follows: 1)the existing outdoor playground area in child care centers should be expanded more than $4\;m^2$ per child. 2) Outdoor play facilities should be equipped with two structured play sets, a play facility for unstructured play and an adventure facility to make child's various activities possible and to promote child development. 3)flooring materials for outdoor playground should be required to use more than three kinds such as solid coverings (cf. asphalt, standard concrete), wood, lawn, soil or sands. 4)to let children enjoy various activities, outdoor playground area should be composed of various play facilities like indoor play gyms and should be independent but have good connections between play facilities depending on characteristics of play activities. 5)Play spaces of outdoor playground should be composed of physical play space, unstructured and dramatized play space, rest space, space for nature and adventure space. In addition, appropriate play equipments should be provided in respective play space.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.18 no.2 s.27
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• pp.44-54
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• 2005

The emphasis in environmental education for children should be on awareness, appreciation, and sensory experiences. By offering children opportunities to experience the elements of nature that surround them, teachers elevate children's comfort level and familiarity with the natural world. But many children have little contact with nature, because of urban living, hurried schedules, TV's attraction, and the low value most schools place on outdoor activities. So, teachers have to expand the real out-of-door experiences into the classroom by sharing and making accessible books focusing on nature and the natural environment. Namely, quality children's literature is an excellent vehicle for extending a particular experience or introducing new ones. Building on outdoor experiences through stories encourages children to explore more deeply what they have observed and experienced-concepts are reinforced, new knowledge gained, vicarious experiences provided. There are three-fold classification of environmentalism, especially environmental ethics, and three-aspects of the history in children's literature. The analytical results of this study are as follow. The environmental ideology in elementary Korean textbooks varies from 'egocentrism-didacticism' to 'ecocentrism-fantasy'. This finding has implication for selecting children's books and teaching environmental contents in elementary school. Therefore teachers and parents need to get ready to receive ecocriticism.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.41-50
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• 2016

This study aims to draw the factors of support and restriction as children play in the outdoor space through their participation. The 135 students (fifth- and sixth- graders) participated in the research using the mapping method included the daily diagram and the open-ended questionnaire. As the research results, the park, the school yard, the playground and the rest space were emerged as play spaces with high utilization rate. Through the analysis of play spaces based on children's perception, the physical and social-psychological factors are drawn as the factors of support and restriction. Some physical factors such as the location are relevant to social-psychological factors such as the friend and the danger. In conclusion, the physical factors which support or restrict children's activities have to be considered with the socialpsychological factors. And the result from children's experience and perception should be basis of providing appropriate spaces for children who are actual users of play spaces.