Happy Kindergarten School-based Development Program

Abstract

In school, children learn to associate with their companions and teachers; they learn about healthy relationship skills and develop them through interactions, both inside the classroom and on the playground (Camp, 2011). Dorothy Law Nolte, in her poem "Children Learn with What They Live," described a learning environment and a learning process that contributes to facilitative learning. That, when realized, makes a school a happy place for learners as a combined outcome of interactions and integration of people, places, and activities. Happiness, though, is something collective that can be advanced through learning encounters that cultivate friendships and connections among the school community. This study determined the level of attainment of happiness among Kindergarten Schools in San Fernando District I as a basis in the formulation of an Enhanced Happy Kindergarten School-Based Development Program. The study utilized descriptive-correlation design. The data gathered from the kindergarten teachers and parents of San Fernando District I with the use of a validated researcher-made questionnaire were treated using descriptive and inferential statistics. The data showed that the level of attainment of happiness among kindergarten schools in San Fernando District I was high. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the level of happiness between lowlands and mountain schoolteachers and parents. It was affirmed that in realizing a school happy place for the learner it is a combined outcome of people which refers to social relationships of the parents, teachers, and learners; a process which encompasses teaching-learning methodologies that can enhance learners sense of well-being and place which refer to contextual factors, both in terms of the physical environment and school atmosphere; hence, the researcher strongly recommends the adoption of the Enhanced Kindergarten School-Based Development Program.