An Investigation on Developing the Shelter and Safety Facilities of FOREST KINDERGARTENS

This dissertation aims at investigating the geographical conditions, facilities, programs and status of the shelter and safety facilities of nine selected forest kindergartens in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province in Korea. Based on the surveys of instructors and participating teachers of forest kindergartens, this study provides several suggestions for improving the shelter and safety facilities of forest kindergartens. The surveyed forest kindergartens had an average of 2.5 forest kindergarten instructors, while the number of participating children in the programs were gradually increasing. In 2017, an average of 9,621.5 children participated in the programs. In some forest kindergartens, the number of participants increased more than two times, three times in 2017 compared to 2016. As a result, this study suggests following three improvements for the shelter and safety facilities in forest kindergartens. First, the scope of use of the shelters need to be expanded. Emergency kit should be kept in the shelters and the shelters should be constructed as fire-and-quake proof buildings. The shelters need to have air-conditioning and heating so that children can take a rest or enjoy more activities in the shelters. Second, safety facilities need to be improved to have more secure escape routes, more CCTVs and the safety facilities monitoring should be strengthened. Sign board for the children should also be improved to provide more details of the surrounding risks with pictures. Third, safety management should also be improved. Instructors and participating teachers of forest kindergartens need to have more training opportunities to learn how to utilize the shelter and safety facilities and they need to be more responsible and capable in securing safety in the daily activities in forest kindergartens.