An Analysis of Research Trends of the Agricultural Education in Elementary School using Semantic Network Analysis

Analysis of Horticultural Activity Programs in Research Articles on Horticultural Therapy for Children in Korean Journals

“…3A). Although there was no clear pattern in activities by year, there were more arts and crafts activities than cultivation overall, which was consistent with previous study results (Kang, 2013;Hwang, 2014) indicating that arts and crafts activities were the most prevalent in programs for horticultural therapy. This is because arts and crafts activities provide an immediate sense of achievement through the completion of the final product, and indoor activities are preferred more since they are less affected by the weather and location (Lee et al, 2009), which suggests that most horticultural activity programs were focused on the outcome rather than the process (Ji et al, 2010).…”

“…As for the publication status of articles on horticultural therapy for children based on the authors' major, 33 articles (43.4%) were published by authors majoring in horticulture, accounting for the biggest share of articles on this topic, followed by 21 articles (27.6%) by authors majoring in multidisciplinary, 16 articles (21.1%) by authors majoring in education, and 6 articles (7.9%) by authors majoring in welfare (Table 2). The fact that 27.6% of related articles were published in multidisciplinary majors was similar to the study by Hwang (2014) Various previous studies proved that horticultural activities had educational effects on the improvement of children's concentration (Jang et al, 2012), creative thinking skills (Jeong et al, 2014), and scientific attitude and inquiry skills (Jeong et al, 2009). This indicates that research on horticultural therapy is also actively being conducted in the field of education.…”

“…Previous studies that analyzed the effects of horticultural therapy on children (Kim, 2012;Kang, 2013;Hwang, 2014) have examined factors such as the current status of research publications as well as subjects and horticultural activities, but there are insufficient studies analyzing the types and sources of plants used in the programs. Among the elements of horticulture, which include humans, plants, and the environment, plants are very diverse and extensive; thus, it is necessary to conduct research on plant materials suitable for the target and purpose of the programs and to design programs accordingly.…”