The Effects of Creative Crochet Activities on Children’s Creative Personality and Attitudes toward Clothing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to seek improvement in clothing education through an application of creative crochet activities for children. A total of 111 students of 4th grade classes from elementary school participated in this program during 16 classes of creative activities from April to May 2013. The content of the creative crochet activities was organized into orientation (making rings etc.), making work I (counting stitches, rows, etc.), making work II (set up a pillar by chains etc.), and completing and sharing the work (making a string by chain and single crochet stitches etc.). Before and after the classes, children’s creative personality and their attitudes toward clothing were investigated. The study also analyzed the mean, standard deviation, and paired-sample t-test for comparison between the pre- and post-test results. According to the results, first, the creative crochet activities were analyzed to be helpful and useful in developing a child’s creative personality, which includes elements such as sensitivity and curiosity. Further, these activities were more effective in the case of girls than in the case of boys with respect to fostering a creative personality. Second, the creative crochet activities were analyzed as being helpful and useful in developing attitudes toward clothing, which include elements such as clothing satisfaction, clothing management, and clothing independence. Further, these activities were more effective in the case of boys than in the case of girls with respect to fostering attitudes toward clothing. Third, clothing education is an appropriate topic for creative activities of Korean elementary schools. Keywords: creative activity, creative personality, attitudes toward clothing