Horticultural Activity Program for Improving Emotional Intelligence, Prosocial Behavior, and Scientific Investigation Abilities and Attitudes in Kindergarteners

Abstract

<jats:p>The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of a horticultural activity program on the emotional intelligence, prosocial behavior, and scientific investigation abilities and attitudes of kindergarteners. A total of 336 children aged 5 to 7 years in public and private kindergartens and day care centers in Incheon, South Korea, participated in a 24-session horticultural activity program. This program included indoor and outdoor activities such as planting seeds, transplanting plants, making and applying eco-friendly fertilizer, watering, harvesting, using plants to make crafts, and cooking with produce. It was designed to improve the emotional intelligence, prosocial behavior, and scientific investigation abilities and attitudes of kindergarteners. Each session lasted an average of 50 minutes and was held once per week. The results of the study showed that the 24-session horticultural activity program improved the emotional intelligence, prosocial behavior, and scientific investigation abilities and attitudes of the children (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05). Satisfaction with the program was very high among both the children and their teachers and parents. Future studies should consider exploring the effects of horticultural activity programs on children in different age groups.</jats:p>

Care Farming Program for Family Health: A Pilot Study with Mothers and Children

“…This likely worked as an effective intervention that could potentially facilitate the development of children's emotional intelligence. Previous studies have also reported improvements in emotional intelligence from care farming programs [32,36]. Park et al [36] reported that a total of 336 children aged five to seven years showed improvements in emotional intelligence after 24 sessions of a care farming intervention.…”

“…The positive effects on the children's emotional intelligence were likely due to the application of emotional intelligence factors such as perception, expression, and recognition of emotions in others in each session of the program (Figure 1). Children's experiences on care farms or in observing the plant growth process with their mothers provide opportunities for emotional development [36]. In this study, the care farming program provided the children with opportunities to perceive and express various emotions while growing or interacting with plants.…”

“…Additionally, a satisfaction survey [36] was revised and tailored for this study's care farming program and completed by all mothers and children after the conclusion of the program. The satisfaction survey for mothers included nine questions regarding overall satisfaction with the care farming program, duration, frequency, and activity time per session, preferences regarding care farming activities, benefits of the program, desire to continue participating in the program, and intent to recommend the care farming program to other families.…”

“…Another study reported improved parent self-efficacy and self-esteem and mitigated parenting stress among mothers who participated in a six-week care farming program, as compared to a control group [28]. In other studies, children were found to have improved overall health outcomes, including physical and physiological (e.g., physical activity and cortisol levels), psychological (e.g., emotional intelligence, eco-friendly attitude, and self-esteem), cognitive (e.g., attention and concentration, and creativity), social (e.g., peer relationships and social ability), educational (e.g., scientific attitude and exploration ability), and behavioral (e.g., dietary habits) improvements [24,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. However, most studies conducted to date have only explored the effects of care farming programs for individuals such as adult women or children, and have not focused on the relationships or interactions between family members within a family care farming program.…”

A Horticultural Therapy Program Focused on Succulent Cultivation for the Vocational Rehabilitation Training of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

“…A previously described satisfaction survey was tailored to the HT program [28] and was completed by the participants after the eight-session HT program. This survey was composed of seven questions, addressing the participants' overall satisfaction with the HT and the duration of the HT and its sessions, their preferences for activities performed in HT, their wish to continue participating in the HT, and their intent to recommend the HT to other individuals with intellectual disabilities.…”