The creative experiential activities are extra-curricular learning activities and are most important features in the 2009 National Reform Curriculum in order to encourage Korean students’ holistic growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the current status of the operation and the perception of teachers related to the creative experiential activities in special classes in middle and high school.
The subjects of this study were 60 selected teachers who are in charge of special class in middle and high schools in Ulsan, Korea. The survey was conducted with questionnaires and the collected data were analyzed by using SPSS(ver.17.0).
The results of this study are as follows;
Firstly, this study reported that the subjects were interested in the creative experiential activities, however, they pointed out a lack of information about the creative experiential activities to students and their parents. Secondly, the findings showed that the organization and implementation of the creative experiential activities took into account the demands of local community, students and parents and it was run by teachers in special classes at each school. Besides, students mostly participated in a club such as sports in terms of the creative experiential activities. Lastly, the outcomes indicated that a teaching style was focused on an excursion or experiential activities, and the most teachers either made a textbook themselves or did not use one. Material resources seemed to most influence the creative experiential activities. In addition, according to this research; the creative experiential activities have a positive effect on development of student’s talent. Nevertheless, high quality evidence and an evaluation by activities records and portfolio are required to draw a decision on their effectiveness.
Therefore, the results suggest that teachers should be offered proper environment and opportunities which they can be able to approach the creative experiential activities individually and socially. It is necessary for students and their parents to be informed to get their understandings and the government needs to invest not only in future studies and training programs for teachers but also in an institutional framework. Finally, cyber supporting center would be helpful to share and exchange ideas, data and all related information quickly.
The limitation of this study is a narrow criterion which included only middle and high school in Ulsan city. Thus, more research on the creative experiential activities is needed with national scale in the future.