• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.597-605
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Childhood obesity has increased in recent decades in Korea. This study was designed to examine differences in the eating habits, physical activity (PA), nutrition knowledge, and self-efficacy of children by obesity status. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Subjects were 5th-grade children from 70 elementary schools in 17 cities nationwide. Two-stage stratified cluster sampling was employed. Survey questionnaire included items related to general characteristics, eating habits, PA, nutrition knowledge and self-efficacy. Excluding incomplete responses, 3,531 data were analyzed using SPSS. Subjects were categorized into overweight obesity (OW) and normal weight (NW) groups based on body mass index percentiles for age by sex. RESULTS: A total of 21.5% of subjects was overweight or obese. There were significant differences in gender, perceived stress, perception of body shape, body satisfaction, and interest in weight control between the OW and NW groups (P < 0.001). With respect to eating habits, the OW group ate breakfast (P < 0.05) and snacks (P < 0.01) less frequently, ate bigger meals (P < 0.001), and demonstrated less desirable behaviors during meals (P < 0.05 in boys) compared to the NW group. The OW group participated in less PA than the NW group, especially boys. OW boys spent less time walking during weekdays (P < 0.05) or the weekend (P < 0.001), spent more time being sedentary during weekdays or the weekend (P < 0.001), and exercised a fewer number of days (P < 0.01). For girls, the OW group spent more time being sedentary during the weekend (P < 0.01) and exercised a fewer number of days by walking or bicycle riding (P < 0.05) than the NW group. Nutrition knowledge was not significantly different between the OW and NW groups. Self-efficacy (P < 0.01 in boys), especially PA self-efficacy (P < 0.01), was significantly lower in the OW than NW group. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed differences in eating habits, PA, and self-efficacy between OW and NW children. Obesity management programs for children need to focus on increasing self-efficacy, modifying eating habits, and increasing PA.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.7
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• pp.629-635
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• 2007

Purpose : This study was conducted to assess the usefulness of fat-free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) as novel expression methods of body composition in children. Methods : A total of 466 Second grade students-248 boys and 218 girls- from all elementary schools the Gwacheon City underwent anthropometric measures including bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and biochemical tests. The correlation coefficients between obesity indices, including FMI and FFMI, and metabolic risk factors, were assessed. Metabolic risk factors of children with increased FMI were compared with those of children with normal FMI. We compared FMI and FFMI percentile distribution between this study's subjects and the subjects of the Fukuoka body composition study. Results : FMI was lower and FFMI was higher in this study's subjects compared to the subjects of the Fukuoka body composition study. FMI was correlated with other obesity indices and several metabolic risk factors. Metabolic risk was higher in children with increased FMI than in children with normal FMI. Conclusion : FMI and FFMI were useful indicators in comparing difference of body composition among children that had different body size and growth. High FMI was related to increase of metabolic risk in children.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.490-508
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• 2014

The objective of this study is to describe the status of operation of after-school science activities in elementary school and offer suggestions for the activation of such programs by targeting parents who participated in an open class, and examining their recognition of the program. To achieve this, announcement sheets for after-school science activities in 809 elementary schools in Gyeonggi-do were collected to examine the class names, class fees, material costs, and management status of class hours. In addition, 36 parents who participated in an open class were targeted, and their recognition of the program was analyzed using the results of a questionnaire. A draft of the questionnaire was developed by revising and complementing the 2013 customer satisfaction survey of the living science class of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity. The final questionnaire was completed by consulting 1 science education professor and 12 Master's candidates in science education for advice on the validity of the questionnaire content and terminology. The collected data were analyzed using a statistical program. Based on the results of the study, the following suggestions are proposed for the activation of after-school science activities in elementary school. First, the needs of education consumers (parents) should be identified and reflected persistently to activate after-school science activities in elementary school. Second, a science program that reflects the demand and choice of education consumers (parents) needs to be developed for the continuous activation of after-school science activities in elementary school.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.377-397
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• 2008

In today's secondary school mathematics curriculum, assessment is to be focused on evaluating the student's mathematical thinking rather than finding the correct solution to the problem. A descriptive evaluation method is therefore introduced to the school districts and suggested as an alternative assessment method in K-12 school mathematics. Descriptive evaluation method is widely available for use in schools, but there are barriers to using it since the teachers are forced to use the method by the school districts. In this research, we surveyed 120 secondary school mathematics teachers in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area to understand the status and the perception about using descriptive evaluation. The goal of the study was to find and understand the direct implications of using the new assessment method in secondary mathematics classes. The study showed that most of the mathematics teachers used the descriptive assessment method during their regular exam periods which is given twice per semester. Most of the open-ended problems used for descriptive evaluation were medium or high level math questions which were graded by the teachers at least 3 times to ensure objective evaluation. The teachers stated that objectivity in grading, administrative situation, and development of descriptive problems were the difficult barriers in descriptive evaluation. The teachers in the survey also commented that teachers' administrative responsibility should be reduced and that school environment in general should be improved for the new assessment method to become successful. Finally, the study showed that development of more descriptive problems with specific grading guidelines need to be developed for each grade level.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.159-170
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• 2012

Many obstacles have been found in the learning of ratio and rate. The types of epistemological obstacles concern 'terms', 'calculations' and 'symbols'. It is important to identify the epistemological obstacles that students must overcome to understand the learning of ratio and rate. In this respect, the present study attempts to figure out what types of epistemological obstacles emerge in the area of learning ratio and rate and where these obstacles are generated from and to search for the teaching implications to correct them. The research questions were to analyze this concepts as follow; A. How do elementary students show the epistemological obstacles in ratio and rate? B. What is the reason for epistemological obstacles of elementary students in the learning of ratio and rate? C. What are the teaching implications to correct epistemological obstacles of elementary students in the learning of ratio and rate? In order to analyze the epistemological obstacles of elementary students in the learning of ratio and rate, the present study was conducted in five different elementary schools in Seoul. The test was administered to 138 fifth grade students who learned ratio and rate. The test was performed three times during six weeks. In case of necessity, additional interviews were carried out for thorough examination. The final results of the study are summarized as follows. The epistemological obstacles in the learning of ratio and rate can be categorized into three types. The first type concerns 'terms'. The reason is that realistic context is not sufficient, a definition is too formal. The second type of epistemological obstacle concerns 'calculations'. This second obstacle is caused by the lack of multiplication thought in mathematical problems. As a result of this study, the following conclusions have been made. The epistemological obstacles cannot be helped. They are part of the natural learning process. It is necessary to understand the reasons and search for the teaching implications. Every teacher must try to develop the teaching method.

• School Mathematics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.819-838
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• 2016

This research analyzed proportional reasoning abilities of the 5th grade students who learned only the basis of ratio and rate and 6th grade students who also learned proportion and cross product strategy. Data were collected through the proportional reasoning tests and the interviews, and then the achievement of the students and their proportional reasoning strategies were analyzed. In the light of such analytical results, the conclusions are as follows. Firstly, there is not much difference between 5th and 6th grade students in the achievement scores. Secondly, both 5th and 6th graders are less familiar with the geometric, qualitative and comparisons tasks than the other tasks. Thirdly, not only 5th graders but also 6th graders used informal strategies much more than the formal strategy. Fourthly, some students can't come up with other strategies than the cross product strategy. Finally, many students have difficulties in discerning proportional situation and non-proportional situations. This study provided suggestions for improving teaching proportional reasoning in elementary schools in Korea as follows: focusing on letting students use their informal strategies fluently in geometric, qualitative, and comparisons tasks as well as algebraic, quantitative, and missing value tasks focusing on the concept of ratio and proportion instead of enforcing the formal strategy.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-32
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• 2000

Although it is widely acknowledged that enhancing creativity is an important educational theme on which schools should depend and embody their educational goal and activities, how to do it can be characterized as 'piecemeal' without a whole picture of it. Thus, school practices of creativity education has been disoriented, discontinuous, short-term, and peripheral in nature. In this practical context, a theoretical model of creativity education was developed in ways in which several theoretical concepts based on research findings on a variety of aspects of creativity education were compiled and organized. The core of the model was creative problem solving process to which the goals and the mediating variables of creativity education were connected in relational fashion. By giving repetitive opportunities for creative problem solving geared to producing the results that are novel and useful for the individual as well as the socity, it was conceptualized that two educational goals could be achieved: a short-term goal of developing creative potential of the individual and the long-term goals of self-actualization of the individual and contribution to the society. It is also conceptualized that creative problem solving can be influenced in positive manner by several mediating variables: content knowledge and skills, creative cognition, creative motivation and attitudes, and creative environment. The creative environment is composed of psychological and physical conditions and provides a basis for creativity education. The former three variables are conceptualized as necessary conditions for the effectiveness and efficiency of creative problem solving, when provided appropriately. The four mediating variables ware conceptualized as mutually affecting so that the development of one variable influences positively that of the other, and vice versa. In terms of practical perspective of teaching creativity, developing creative potential, self-actualization, and contribution to society are the goals; creative problem solving process is the methodology; content knowledge and skills, creative cognition, and creative motivation and attitudes are the content; and creative environment is the condition of creativity education. The model is not yet perfect but needs further explorations to make it more detailed in clarifying various relationships. For instance, how the creative problem solving process can be differentiated in teaching various subject matters is yet to be explored. Thus, the model proposed in this study should be regarded as a general model of creativity education, and is relatively sound to be adopted in school practices since it is based on the theoretical as well as empirical study findings on creativity. However, the proposed model needs to be validated through empirical researches in real teaching settings.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.935-959
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• 2014

This study attempted to examine the significance of experience in the gifted class management. The participants of the this study were teachers of the science gifted classe in elementary school located in Seoul. The study was conducted in interviews with four teachers of the science gifted class that individually used their own gifted programs. The interviews were analyzed by applying a phenomenological method of analysis derived from Giorgi. Data collection focused on the feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and changes in life of the teachers of the gifted in order to analyze the experience of the research participants. As a result, 123 significant statements were deduced; based on these significant statements, 26 themes and 12 focal meanings were examined closely. Then, the focal meanings were combined to propose situated structural descriptions of the significance of experiences from the perspective of participants. At the same time, by integrating the situated structural descriptions of the individual participants, the experiences of the teachers of the science gifted class were organized as a general structural description. This study examined in depth the experiences of the teachers of the gifted who are the subjects of the gifted class management through a phenomenological method, and also attempted to examine what these teachers wanted on site and what their experiences with the gifted education meant to them. The implications in understanding the problems of the science gifted education in individual elementary schools and in improving the gifted class management were suggested.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.26-32
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• 2015

The main purpose of this study is to propose a directionfor fire safety education and to discuss the current issues of fire extinguisher training A survey was conducted, and the results show that only 52.1% of homes have a fire extinguisher, whereas over 93% of public and private work places (e.g., schools and businesses) have a fire extinguisher. Approximately 90% of the survey participants had fire extinguisher training experience. However, only 65.8% of the public and private work places conducted fire extinguisher training regularly. 42.5% of survey participants had not been trained in the past year. In the survey result on fire extinguisher knowledge, participants showed a score of 3.95/5.00 for how to use a fire extinguisher and a score of 3.00/5.00 for the meaning of the ABC ratings of fire extinguishers. An independent T-test showed that the "the installation of fire extinguishers in the house" and "regular fire safety education in your group" have influences on the "the knowledge of fire extinguishers" (p < .05).

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-30
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• 1997

The results of this study were summarized as follows : 1. In the field of general subjects, the compulsory courses are composed of 10 courses(14.3%) in 9 subjects and show only one course in one subject in Korea, while those in Japan are composed of 11-12 courses(18.3-20.0%) in 8 subjects and present each level course of primary and deepening in course. 2. In the field of general subjects, the elective courses are composed of 60 courses(85.7%) in 12 subjects in Korea, while those in Japan are composed of 48-49 courses in 8 subjects. 3. In the field of specialized subjects, the compulsory courses for streams have 3 courses(10.7%) in Korea, while those in Japan have 4 courses (16.7%) 4. In the field of specialized subjects, the compulsory courses for departments are composed of 2-4 courses in Korea, while specialized courses for departments are composed of 4 courses in Japan. 5. In the field of general subjects, unit allotment of the compulsory courses requires the completion of 70 units (37.2%) out of total 188 units(excluding extracurricular activites) in Korea, while that in Japan requires the completion of 70-90 units(38.9-50.0%) out of total 180 units (excluding extracurricular activites). 6. In the field of general subjects, unit allotment of the elective courses requires the completion of 12-36 units(6.4-19.2%) out of total 188 units in Korea, while that in Japan requires the completion of30-50 units(16.7-27.8%) out of total 180 units. 7. In the field of specialized subjects, unit allotment of the major courses requires the completion of more thar 82 units in Korea, while that in Japan requires the completion of more than 60 units, so that the units of the complusory courses for stresms of both of the countries tend to show many differences and diversity in both zone and school. Based on these results, the research concluded that the Fisheries High Schools in the two countries make up nearly similar curricula, while in Japan general subjects carry more extensive choice of courses and higher unit allotment is provided for general subjects than in Korea. It was also concluded that the curriculum for vocational education in Japan intends to develop spontaneous, creative, and soft personalities for job. This study suggests that Fisheries High School curriculum in Korea needs to be improved to give students more opportunities for course selection and to help students adapt themselves to various kinds of job groups.