• School Mathematics
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.697-716
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• 2011

It is known that Korean students performs very well in mathematics but show poor attitude toward mathematics. However, attitude itself is an important goal of education and it also promotes students learning. Therefore, it is important and urgent for us to find a way to improve students' attitude toward mathematics. In this article, we tried to examine characteristics of Korean students' attitude toward mathematics and identify student and school level factors affecting it. For this purpose, we analysed National Assessment of Educational Achievement (NAEA) data in 2007 when NAEA was conducted especially focused on mathematics. Main findings of this research are as follows. First, we found that attitude toward mathematics got lower as students advanced to higher grades. And among 3 sub-domains of attitude toward mathematics, interest and self-confidence were lower than perception of value of mathematics. Secondly, attitude toward mathematics was mainly affected by student background variables such as gender, achievement, participation in private tutoring, father's education level. And while school factors contributed relatively little to students' attitude toward mathematics, teacher's perception on value of school education was positively related with students' attitude in high schools and emphasis on assessment was negatively related with students' attitude in elementary schools.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1039-1051
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• 2014

This study aims to measure intelligence (cognitive characteristics), self-esteem, mathematical attitudes, and scientific attitudes (affective characteristics) of gifted students from low-income families, and to identify the relationship among these variables. 147 students in the lower grades of elementary schools who were enrolled to university-based gifted education centers were participants of the study. The results showed that the percentile scores of each variable were 85% for intelligence, 75.6% for self-esteem, 73.3% for mathematical attitudes, and 71.3% for mathematical attitudes. There was no statistically significant relationship between intelligence and the affective characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, mathematical attitudes, and scientific attitudes), while statistically significant relationships were shown between self-esteem and mathematical attitudes (r=.448, p=.000), between self-esteem and scientific attitudes (r=.522, p=.000), and between mathematical attitudes and scientific attitudes (r=.448, p=.000). The results suggest that although the gifted students from low-income families show lower levels compared to other gifted student groups, their potential level of giftedness is considerably high, which calls for appropriate educational support systems designed for this population.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.295-302
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to make more reliable researches on the tendency of shirking from the mathematics by including those of the students in the other country, and there are a series of researches such as 'math-camp to raise the mathematical tendency of the students who make little progress in the study', 'establishment of factors causing the shirking tendency from the mathematics and development of the analyzing instruments for it' and 'study on the preference to each category of the school mathematics.' For this purpose, I used a test developed by the shirking tendency research team. I compared the average score and standard deviation between the Korean and the Australian students. As for the average score, that of the Australian elementary school students is about one point higher than the Korean students, and there was no remarkable difference in the deviation. Comparing the math-shirking tendency of the two groups, they show higher shirking tendency in the aspects of emotional and mathematical recognition that belong to the psychological and environmental sphere. And, as for an extent of association in difficulties according to each school grades, its degree of the Australian students is comparatively lower than that of the Korean students, therefore, the shirking tendency of the Australian students is intermediate level whereas that of the Korean students is the lowest. They show us a peculiar result in teacher factor. It is noteworthy in that the Korean students show a positive reaction in that factor, however, the Australian students show a comparatively weak reaction. It might be caused by a cultural difference. I also have compared the accumulated percentage according to each shirking tendency factors. It will not only be very efficient for teachers to establish a teaching plan but also a good data to understand the shirking tendency of each student. This will be a very good data for the planners of teaching policy to remedy the causes of shirking tendency. And, it will also be used effectively to write a new textbook. It has been uncommon that a psychological test is used in the research for the improvement of teaching and learning mathematics. In this aspect, I am sure that this study including the preceding research will be a good in studying the shirking tendency factors by using a psychological test. I believe that this research will be a help to grasp the outline of the shirking tendency and I will have to try continuously to make it be a reasonable and reliable study.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.376-386
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to explore the learning progression of logical thinking in acid and base chemical reactions and to evaluate its validity. For this purpose, we collected 387 participants in 9 schools of elementary, middle and high schools nationwide. The questionnaire developed in this study was composed of nine items. The questionnaire presented the acid and base reactants and products, and the students pictured their thoughts on how these substances change, and answered the reasons of their thoughts. Situation contexts of the questionnaire were divided into two groups: one kind of solute dissolved in a solvent, and two kinds of solute dissolved in a solvent. In this study, six levels of learning progression were assumed by combining material conservation logic, combination logic, proportion logic, and particle number conservation logic. By analyzing the data, Infit and Outfit values of Person reliability, Item reliability, MNSQ and ZSTD were obtained from the Rasch model. As a result of the analysis of data, it was found that lower levels of learning progression prevailed up to the younger grade students till $8^{th}$ grade. The higher levels of learning progression(Level 2~Level 5) prevailed up to the older grade students. However, higher levels of learning progression dropped sharply in Grade 12. The 5 level of learning progression was very low in all grades, and $9^{th}$ grade had highest percentage of students belonging to the 5 level. Interpretation of these unusual results suggests a future research related to explanation differences of textbooks.

• Journal of the HCI Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2008

The major users of children's library are children and housewives. Recent increasing frequency of their visit to the library expands the function of it from the place where they borrow and read books further to the cultural space where each family unit can enjoy leisure activities. Though the children's library basically is a quiet place for reading books, peers' establishing friendship and emotional bond with the parents, and such plays as small scale muscular movements take place in addition to reading activities because the major users are infants under six or children in the lower grades in elementary school. Thus, in order to study the features and requirements that are inherent in the various behaviors of the children who use furniture, understanding of the particular factors in the physical environment of the children's library and the user context must precede. In reality, though the fixed form of the desks and chairs in the library was made by a small number of designers, a large number of children are using them in tremendously various ways beyond the ways that the designers had intended, adapting themselves to the environmental context. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find out the children's using way of seats when they do reading and playing activities based on the way of interaction between children and parents, and, after modeling of the children's behavior data, to understand the demands inherent inside the various behaviors of children who use furniture.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.140-148
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• 2004

To evaluate the acute effects of fine particles on pulmonary function, a longitudinal study was conducted. This study was carried out for the schoolchildren (3rd and 6th grades) living in Beijing, China. Each child was provided with a mini-Wright peak flow meter and a preformatted health symptom diary for 40 days, and was trained on their proper use. Participants were instructed to perform the peak flow test three times in standing position, three times a day (9 am, 12 pm, and 8 pm), and to record all the readings along with the symptoms (cold, cough, and asthmatic symptoms) experienced on that day. Daily measurement of fine particles (PM$_{10}$ and PM$_{2.5}$) was obtained in the comer of the playground of the participating elementary school for the same period of this longitudinal study. The relationship between daily peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and fine particle levels was analyzed using a mixed linear regression models including gender, height, the presence of respiratory symptoms, and daily average temperature and relative humidity as extraneous variables. The total number of students participating in this longitudinal study was 87. The range of daily measured PEFR was 253-501$\ell$/min. In general, the PEFR measured in the morning was lower than the PEFR measured in the evening (or afternoon) on the same day. The daily mean concentrations of PM$_{10}$ and PM$_{2.5}$ over the study period were 180.2$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ and 103.2$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥, respectively. The IQR (inter-quartile range) of PM$_{10}$ and PM$_{2.5}$ were 91.8$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ and 58.0$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥. During the study period, the national ambient air quality standard of 150$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ (for PM$_{10}$) was exceeded in 23 days (57.5%). The analysis showed that an increase of 1$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ of PM$_{10}$ corresponded to 0.59$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ increment of PM$_{2.5}$. Daily mean PEFR was regressed with the 24-hour average PM$_{10}$ (or PM$_{2.5}$) levels, weather information such as air temperature and relative humidity, and individual characteristics including gender, height, and respiratory symptoms. The analysis showed that the increase of fine particle concentrations was negatively associated with the variability in PEFR. The IQR increments of PM$_{10}$ or PM$_{2.5}$ (at 1-day time lag) were also shown to be related with 1.54 $\ell$/min (95% Confidence intervals: 0.94-2.14) and 1.56$\ell$/min (95% CI: 0.95-2.16) decline in PEFR.R.ine in PEFR.ine in PEFR.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.73-88
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• 2022

Mathematics is a way of thinking. To do mathematics means to think mathematically. In other words, mathematics education and mathematics literacy are related. In elementary and secondary school mathematics education in many countries, teaching of mathematics using textbooks is conducted mostly in their native language. So mathematics education takes place while reading, writing, listening, and speaking mathematics. Analysis of mathematics textbooks for the lower grades of undergraduate mathematics shows that most advanced countries in mathematics use excellent undergraduate mathematics textbooks written in their native language. However, the ratio of using imported textbooks from foreign countries is particularly high in the case of textbooks for mathematics majors at Korean universities. In this article, the effect of language used in university mathematics education is analized. In particular, the importance of high-quality leading-edge university mathematics textbooks in native language is introduced by analyzing the case of Bourbaki in France and 'War of language' at the Israel Institute of Technology. The innovation of French university mathematics education in the 20th century began with Bourbaki's 'Fundamentals of Mathematics', a French textbook written in his native language. Israel's Technion and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem continue to teach all subjects in their mother tongue. This has led to produce many Nobel Prize and Fields medal winners in these two countries. This study shows that textbooks and languages used in university mathematics education has affected mathematical literacy.

• The Journal of Sustainable Design and Educational Environment Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.66-90
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to measure and analyze primary causes of indoor air pollution, including carbon dioxide, minute dust, and total volatile organic compounds, for each room before the beginning of a class through the time of discharge after the end of the class in general classrooms, computer rooms, and science rooms of three newly-established schools that opened in 2006, examine properties of indoor air environment in each room by educational activities at school, and determine effective management schemes; the results of this study can be summarized as follows: 1) As for implications for each item found in the mean for each place, since minute dust (PM10) was more likely to occur in time slots full of students' activities, such as a traveling class and a recess, than in the middle of a class and could be expected fully, it is necessary to make a scheme for cleaning in order to reduce minute dust within a room, for example, by usually using a vacuum cleaner indoors. 2) While carbon dioxide was expected to vary with the differences in the amount of breath between higher-graders and lower-graders in a general classroom but showed insignificant difference by grades, showing differences in pollution by four times at a maximum according to the opening of a window as expected, it is necessary to implement artificial or natural ventilation and take a positive measure, for example, by presenting a concrete ventilation scheme, in order to improve indoor air pollution at a room practice. 3) Total volatile organic compounds were found to exceed the standard by more than twice in general classrooms, science rooms, and computer rooms of the schools because of building materials, furnitures including desks and chairs, panels and boards for environment beautification, and items which could be detected even from students' clothes; while a field directly-reading tool was used, obtaining high reliability for the results, it is necessary to apply an analytical method based on process test separately for actual correct measurement if a significantly great amount of total volatile organic compounds appear as compared with other schools due to measuring expenses and consecutive measurements. 4) Since formaldehyde (HCHO) was generally found to exceed the standard in general classrooms, science rooms, and computer rooms, it is necessary to establish and operate a ventilator during a class in a computer room which requires airtightness and a science room in which an organic compound should be used for a class.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.344-352
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to identify the latent classes in the changing patterns of marital conflict perceived by mothers to explore its relationship with the changing patterns of mothers' depression, school readiness, self-esteem, and happiness of their children five years after their birth. A total of 1,243 responses from the 1st (2008) to 5th (2012) and 7th (2014) to 10th (2017) Korean Child and Youth Panel Study(KCYPS) were analyzed by Latent Growth Modeling (LGM) and Growth Mixture Analysis (GMA). The results were as follows. First, three changing patterns in the mothers' perceived marital conflict groups were identified: low-low changing, average-uptrend, and high-unchanging group. Second, an increasing pattern of depression was found from mothers of high-unchanging group over five years. Third, school readiness for their children was differentiated according to the latent classes. In particular, children from the low-low changing group showed higher readiness as well as self-esteem and happiness. Fourth, children from mothers of the low-low changing group showed high self-esteem and happiness in lower grades in elementary school. The results of this study suggest that the mothers' perceived marital conflict had an influence on themselves as well as their children's school related behaviors. Suggestions for an intervention program to resolve marital conflict are also discussed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.483-492
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• 2015

This study involved elementary schoolchildren in Busan Metropolitan city and assumed the foundation of social cooperative associations that provide education services for meteorological fields, then we analyzed expected profits in a year for successful operation of first year. Twelve variables relating to profits and expenses were derived, and we used the decision tree for analyzing optimal expected profits. Profit-related variables were lecture's fee per hour and price of textbooks. Expense-related variables were production costs for the textbooks, annual salary for a teacher, education costs for a teacher, developing costs for the textbooks, traveling expenses, rental fees, and operating costs. Besides, by adding education demands, the number of grades, and the number of teachers, we analyzed changes in expected profits, considering variability of profits and expenses. As a result, despite of expected lower demands, to increase price of textbooks and education costs per hour was of advantage to enhance expected profits. The reason is that the more demand, the more increased production costs for textbooks, which is because not to make enough profits to offset the increased expenses due to lowered price of textbooks and education costs. Considering the value of public interest for social cooperative associations, price determination only concerning increase in demands will be avoided.