The purpose of this study was to have a more perfect understanding of forest kindergartens, to examine educational values important for the actualization of forest kindergarten education and to suggest some of the right directions for forest kindergartens, as the number of forest kindergartens has been on the rise. To serve the purpose, it was necessary to make a qualitative research to closely observe the experiences of preschooler in a forest kindergarten and grasp the meaning of their experiences.
A research question was posed:1. What are the world of preschooler''s experiences in the forest kindergarten and the meaning of their experiences?
A phenomenological method that was one of qualitative research methods was employed to make a participant observation of a selected forest kindergarten in consideration of the situational contexts to figure out the profound meaning of the experiences of the preschoolers in the forest kindergarten. Besides, their lives in the forest kindergarten were observed as well to have an in-depth understanding of the preschoolers.
This study was implemented in the following stages:
First, after a preliminary survey was conducted, two kindergartens were selected from the city of Busan. One was a forest kindergarten located in an arboretum, and the other was H kindergarten. Second, 24 preschoolers who were in a class named "Chorong" in H kindergarten located in the city of Busan were selected for the purpose of observation. And five adults were selected for the purpose of observation and in-depth interview. Out of them, one was the principal who was going to run the forest kindergarten for a year, and two were homeroom teachers. Another two were forest commentators who were selected and dispatched by the arboretum. Besides, seven mothers of the preschoolers who started to get together after they visited their children''s classes were interviewed, and two field supervisors were additionally interviewed. Third, data were gathered from the fourth week of March to the third week of November, 2012, by making a participant observation, holding interviews, collecting documents, taking photos and videotaping. Fourth, the collected data were analyzed according to the analysis method presented by qualitative researchers. After the data were transcribed and arranged, they were encoded, classified by type and then categorized by theme.
As a result, it''s found that the world of experiences among the preschoolers in the forest kindergarten consisted of the following five fields: The first was the field of real nature. The preschoolers found their own nature in the forest kindergarten. While they gained diverse experiences, they discovered their own intrinsic love for life, and their wild nature that had hardly been disclosed in the past was revealed. What they found in themselves most quickly was a nature of kindness, and a strong spirit of inquiry was exposed at the same time. The second was the field of aesthetics. The preschoolers acquired aesthetic experiences in the forest kindergarten. While they engaged in activities in the forest kindergarten during the period of participant observation, they felt the beauty of the forest that came into view, and described how they felt about it. And then they joyfully displayed their aesthetic emotion they got from the activities, and the forest kindergarten became a place of aesthetics for the preschoolers. The third was the field of genuine play. The play the preschoolers did in the forest kindergarten was not what''s intended for educational purposes. The preschoolers were just allowed to enjoy play itself, and the forest kindergarten served as a place where they could play without any restraints in a genuine sense. To be specific, the experiences they acquired from the forest kindergarten enabled them to relax and enjoy playing with one another, whereas there were basically spatial and temporal restrictions indoors. Namely, the preschoolers who had just engaged in intended play in the past had an opportunity to enjoy play in a genuine sense in a manner they liked. The fourth was the field of healing. The preschoolers gained healing experiences in the forest kindergarten. They were able to spend time in a way they liked, and that experience made them find it quite delightful to be in the kindergarten. During the period of this study, the experiences they gained from the forest kindergarten served to energize and cheer up themselves. Thus, the forest kindergarten served as a place of healing that gave delight and fun to the preschoolers.The fifth was the field of flow. The preschoolers found themselves to be absorbed in the activities, and such flow experiences seemed to have allowed them to feel delight in life and become stable. And it seemed that they had peak experience, which was defined as the happiest and most substantial moment for human being. They shared their lives with one another as living creatures and found a meaning even in trivial things, and they acquired genuine flow experiences in that process.
The findings of the study had the following implications for education: First, it''s required to provide enough time to preschoolers. The preschoolers were able to relax, to play in a genuine sense and to acquire deep flow experiences in the forest kindergarten when they were free from the timetable that had artificially divided their daily lives. Therefore it''s required to take into consideration the way that the forest kindergarten carefully tried to give the preschoolers time to play in a flexible and leisurely manner. Second, it''s required to reconsider the meaning of preschooler''s activity spaces. Activity spaces are major environments where preschoolers gain diverse experiences. These days, preschoolers spend most of their time indoors, and the sphere of their activity should be extended in the future. Typically, an educational space has been viewed as a place to teach and guide according to a detailed plan, b