This study investigated the impact of four phases of the Korean Dance Program using
psychological techniques - a warming up phase, a Korean Dance phase, a cooling down phase,
and a psychological technique phase - on elementary school students\' mental health. Upper
grade students (5th and 6th grades) from S Elementary School and J Elementary School located
in Kangwondo were selected as the study sample. The program was conducted with 25
students in a participating group and 25 students in a non-participating group twice a week
in sessions of 40 minutes each, for a total of 24 sessions during the morning activity time.
As a measurement tool, MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) was employed.
Wang il (1997) had selected sixty questions for five measurements that could be found in senior
elementary school students and thse were rewritten in words suitable for children. The five
types of clinical scales in this questionnaire were depression, abnormality, introversion,
obsession, and hysteria; it consisted of twelve items for each factor, for a total of sixty items.
In order to analyze the results of the effects of this Korean Dance program on elementary
school student mental health, an SPSS program was used and was processed statistically by a
T-test to examine mental health differences between the male and female, participating and
non-participating groups before and after the implementation of the Korean Dance program.
The following results were obtained.
First, the mental health of the participating group, where the Korean Dance program using
psychological techniques was conducted, appeared to be better than before. On the other hand,
for the non-participating group, the pre- and posttest results showed no significant differences.
Secondly, the mental health of the participating group, where the Korean Dance program
using psychological techniques was conducted, improved for both boys and girls, but there was
no statistically significant difference between them.
It is suggested, therefore, that children receive praise in a permissive atmosphere to
effectively apply the Korean Dance program in schools; it will be necessary to research and
supply Korean Dance programs systematically and continuously so that both boys and girls can
learn traditional Korean dance more easily and with more enjoyment.