Development and Application of an Ecological Environmental Education Program: Impacts on Character Among Elementary School Students

Abstract

This study developed and applied an ecological environmental program based on an integrated curriculum, then examined its effects on character virtues among elementary school students. We achieved this through the following steps. First, we developed the program with a focus on practical arts, such that participants took care of animals and plants that were easily accessible in the classroom. Second, we analyzed how the program impacted their character development.
 To achieve our research purpose, we developed the program in connection with the 2015 revised integrated curriculum. We then selected two fifth-grade classes from “S” elementary school in the “S” district of Daegu as the experimental and control groups, the former of which received 30 sessions of the environmental education program over an eight-week period. The results were as follows.
 First, we successfully developed the ecological environmental education program after analyzing and reconstructing the fifth-grade curriculum. Second, the program positively affected the virtues of sincerity, perseverance, stability, cooperation, and respect for life in the experimental group; these participants had time to appreciate life and take care of their own minds by relating to and experiencing the ecosystem.
 In conclusion, this study developed and applied an ecological environmental education program that allowed elementary school students to directly interact with animals and plants as part of their curriculum. Based on several virtue improvements, this significantly enhanced their character development.