재활승마지도사가 인식하는 민간 승마장과 공공·교육기관 승마장의 재활승마 운영 차이 분석*: IPA 기법을 활용한 비교 연구

Abstract

This study aimed to compare therapeutic riding (TR) instructors’ perceptions of TR program operation between private equestrian facilities and public or educational equestrian facilities, the two primary providers of TR programs in Korea. It also sought to identify directions for future improvement. To achieve this purpose, a survey was conducted with 92 certified TR instructors who had experience operating TR programs. The collected data were analyzed using Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) and independent samples t-tests to examine group-specific improvement priorities and differences between the two groups. According to the IPA results, the private equestrian facilities identified items perceived as high in importance but low in performance-such as ‘the number of TR horses’, ‘accessibility features for people with disabilities’, and ‘volunteer recruitment’-as areas requiring intensive management, most of which were associated with physical resources. In contrast, public and educational equestrian facilities identified items related to human resource expertise and program quality-such as 'understanding of the human body', 'specialized instructional methods for different disability types', and 'volunteer education'-as areas requiring intensive management. Analysis of the differences between importance and performance revealed that, while the two groups held similar perceptions of the importance of TR operational factors, they exhibited significant differences in their perceived performance levels. This study confirmed that TR instructors in private equestrian facilities and those in public or educational equestrian facilities demonstrated distinct differences in their perceptions of the importance and perceived performance of TR operation factors. Based on these results, the study proposes tailored policy recommendations to support the sustainable development of the therapeutic riding industry.