An Ecological Study on the Environment of the Children in the Deprived Areas in Seoul
Chong Soon Kim
Abstract
The present study was intended to investigate ecological characteristics of poverty areas in Seoul from the perspectives of children`s development. More specifically, the objectives of the study are to examine environmental ecology of the poverty areas and it`s potential psycho-social development of children. Three poverty areas and 150 children currently living in the are as were sampled ; 70 children from middle class families and 88 from lower class respectively. Focal ecological aspects surveyed family environment, outdoor play ground and facilities, and village housing structures. Psycho-social dimension`s development dealt with in the study included children`s perceptions of parental child rearing practices and role taking, and children`s future perception and perspectives. Data were collected through interviews and observations using structured formats. Following results were obtained from the data : 1. Children from the poverty families showed a higher tendency to have working mothers than those from middle class. 2. The rate of having single room is higher for children from middle class by two times than from lower class. 3. Children from lower class tended to have less favorable perceptions of attitudes tote and their own families than those from middle class. 4. The likelihood of showing discrepancy in vocational choice for children between parents and children is higher for children from lower class and those from middle class. 5. Children from lower class tended to allot more time in playing with peers than those from middle class. 6. The size of outdoor play ground are inadequately poor both for middle and lower class children. The inadequateness is particularly severe for the lower class children, showing that the size and facilities of playing ground available for the child from lower class is less than half compared with those of the children from middle class.
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