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Independence of Japanese kindergarten
children associated with a five-day resident
camp
Minoru, I.
Doctoral Dissertation, George Peabody College
for Teachers, 1957.
Purpose:
Determine the effects of a five-day residential
camping experience on the independence of
kindergarten children in school and at home
and examine the relationship between gender,
birth order, age differences, mother's expectations
of early independence, friendship status
and camp satisfaction.
Sample:
Subjects: 95 (58 male, 37 female) children
in the camp group, 61 children (33 male,
28 female) in the control group. The mean
age of the children was five years, 11 months.
Camp Affiliation: The camp was sponsored
by the Tsukuba University Physical Education
Department.
Method/Instruments:
Method: The children lived in six tent groups
of eight children and two counselors. Camp
goals included: developing independence,
discovering the relationship between living
things and the environment, and improving
interpersonal skills. Activities included
nature study, mountain climbing, dramatics,
drawing, and outdoor living skills.
Instruments:
- Dependence-Independence Scale: adapted
to measure independence at home, in school,
and at camp.
- Age-Independence Scale: measured parental
expectations of child's independence.
- Sociometric Questionnaire: measured
children's friendship choices and popularity.
- Postcamp Evaluation: measured satisfaction
with the camp experience.
Design: pre-test/post-test with control group
design and follow-up at six-seven weeks and
seven months after camp.
Data Analysis:
- t-test for mean gain score and mean
pre-test/post-test differences on independence
data. Multiple Regression Analysis used
to examine percentage of variance in camp
independence accounted for by home and
kindergarten independence scores and correlation
between camp, home, and school independence.
- t-test for differences in independence
based on gender, birth order, and age.
- t-test for between group differences
on early independence expectations.
- Chi-square test to analyze camp friendship
formation data. Sociograms were used to
plot friendship relationships of each
child in camp. t-test for differences
in independence scores between high and
low popularity campers.
- t-test to analyze for independence differences
based on camp satisfaction.
Results:
- Significant difference between pre-
and post-camp tests of independence for
the camp group, indicating that the children
who participated in camp experienced greater
increases in independence than those who
did not. This difference was retained
at the six-week but not at the seven-month
follow-up interval. Significant relationship
between independence a home, at school,
and at camp. Children who were more independent
in school and at home were more independent
at camp. However, home independence was
not found to be a predictor of independence
at camp.
- No gender, age, or birth order differences
in independence.
- Mothers who sent their children to camp
had higher expectations for early independence
for their children. However, there was
no evidence that the children of mothers
who had high expectations for early independence
were more independent at camp.
- Significant increase in the number of
friendship choices. Children who attended
camp had more friends at the end of camp
than at the beginning of camp.
- No relationship between children's popularity
at camp and independence.
- Children who were more satisfied with
the camp experience were more independent
in camp than those who were not satisfied.
- The researcher also observed that five-year-olds
can accomplish more than parents, early
childhood educators, and child psychologists
expect.
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