The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of manipulation of environmental variables on children's behaviors in Korean kindergarten classrooms. One classroom consisted of 36 5-year-olds(19 boys and 17 girls) located in the middle class residential area in Seoul was selected for this study. Procedures for the present study was based on principles of ecological psychology; children's behavior in the early education setting is considered to be more a function of that environment than any other variable. At first, the children's behavior was observed and scored for two weeks according to frequencies of behavior by type and by activity area, utilizing the Behavior Checklist Data Sheet developed by Day et al.(1974) to collect the baseline data. Next, the room was arranged so it qualified for high scores on the kindergarten classroom design guidelines. Children's behavior was observed and scored according to the Behavior Checklist. As a result of changing the physical environmental variables, frequencies of crowding indicator behaviors were markedly decreased, while positive and constructive behaviors clearly increased. All of these results met a satisfactory level of statistical significance. Discussions and suggestions were made for further study.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of manipulation of environmental variables on children's behaviors in Korean kindergarten classrooms. One classroom consisted of 36 5-year-olds(19 boys and 17 girls) located in the middle class residential area in Seoul was selected for this study. Procedures for the present study was based on principles of ecological psychology; children's behavior in the early education setting is considered to be more a function of that environment than any other variable. At first, the children's behavior was observed and scored for two weeks according to frequencies of behavior by type and by activity area, utilizing the Behavior Checklist Data Sheet developed by Day et al.(1974) to collect the baseline data. Next, the room was arranged so it qualified for high scores on the kindergarten classroom design guidelines. Children's behavior was observed and scored according to the Behavior Checklist. As a result of changing the physical environmental variables, frequencies of crowding indicator behaviors were markedly decreased, while positive and constructive behaviors clearly increased. All of these results met a satisfactory level of statistical significance. Discussions and suggestions were made for further study.