원예활동이 발달장애 아동의 사회ㆍ정서 발달과 자기표현 능력에 미치는 영향

Effects of Horticultural Activities on Socio-emotional Development and Self-expression of Children with Developmental Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of single horticultural activities including planting and flower arrangement activities on the socio-emotional development and the enhancement of self-expression in children with developmental disabilities. Among 12 children with developmental disabilities who use early childhood education class in a welfare center for the disabilities located in Daegu, 6 children were provided with planting activities and the rest were provided with flower arrangement activities, with 10 sessions for each group. The analysis of the levels of socio-emotional development before and after the horticultural activities indicated that the total score was 19.16 points higher in flower arrangement group than the level in planting group (P<0.05). In terms of sub-items, flower arrangement group had 4.90 points higher in Inner Control (P<0.05), 8.16points higher in Interaction with peers (P<0.01), and 3.40 points higher in curiosity (P<0.01) sub-items than planting group. The results of measuring the degree of self-expression enhancement after the horticultural activities also show that the total score was 7.27 points higher (P<0.05) in flower arrangement group than the one in planting group. Regarding sub-items, the scores were 1.60 higher in intellectual expression (P<0.05), 1.40 higher in social expression (P<0.05), and 2.73 higher in physical expression (P<0.01) sub-items for flower arrangement group compared to scores from planting group. The summary of results above indicates that flower arrangement activities were more effective in enhancing self-expression in children with developmental disabilities than planting activities. In conclusion, horticultural activities requiring flowers that stimulate the senses gave positive effects on the socio-emotional development and the enhancement of self-expression in children with developmental disabilities.