Opinions on computing education in Korean K-12 system: higher education perspective

The need for computing education in the K-12 curriculum has grown globally. The Republic of Korea is not an exception. In response to the need, the Korean Ministry of Education has announced an outline for software-centric computing education in the K-12 system, which aims at enhancing the current computing education with software emphasis. In this paper, we review the outline from a higher education perspective and provide insights into its constructive improvement based on our experience in computer science education in higher education and a study of global initiatives on computing education. We also consider the social environment for computing education in Korea. In the proposed implementation, we first discuss goals for software-centric computing education and identify areas of focus. The identified areas are discussed in terms of topics to be covered and appropriate exposure of knowledge depth in the three levels in the Korean K-12 system. We then discuss necessary preparations for the success of the plan from academic, governmental and social perspectives.     

Korean Year 3 Children’s Environmental Literacy: A prerequisite for a Korean environmental education curriculum

The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean children’s environmental literacy levels and the variables that affect their environmental literacy. An instrument, the Environment Literacy Instrument for Korean Children (ELIKC), was developed that measures four different dimensions (knowledge, attitude, behaviour, and skills) using 69 items and 13 demographic variables. The ELIKC was administered to 969 Year 3 students from large cities, medium‐sized cities, and rural areas. The students were given 80 min to answer the questions. Statistical analysis was performed on each of the scales that make up the ELIKC and a multivariate analysis of variance was performed to identify the variables that affect environmental literacy. Results indicate that the correlation between attitude and behaviour is the strongest while that between knowledge and behaviour is the weakest. Also, it was found that gender, parents’ school background, and the source from where students obtain environmental information affect all categories of environmental literacy.     

The Effect of Online Media Platforms on Joining Causes: The Impression Management Perspective

Drawing on the impression management theory, this study examined the effect of online media platforms, social network sites (SNSs) versus non-SNSs, on the intention to join a cause. The online experimental study discovered that the SNS was more effective in increasing the intention to join a cause than the non-SNS. The findings also demonstrated the mediating role of the perceived visibility of joining the cause and the moderating role of public self-consciousness on this effect. Further, self-cause image congruence positively influenced the intention to join the cause, while it did not moderate the effect of online media platforms.     

How food ads communicate ‘health’ with children: a content analysis of Korean television commercials

In the past decades, the rates of childhood obesity have increased rapidly in Asian countries, where an increase in Westernization of behavioral and dietary lifestyle is evident. Although causes of childhood obesity have raised an issue about the direct influence of food advertising on children, little has been known about what kinds of health relevant content are provided and how they are presented. The present study explores the current practice of television food advertising targeted at children in Korea and extends previous content analyses by examining the content and presentation manner of health-related claims as well as persuasive appeals and food types. The results of the analysis of 403 television commercials show children in Korea are still mainly targeted with advertising messages that urge the consumption of unhealthy foods heavily emphasizing sensory and emotional appeals, while food marketers have not utilized health information enough and put an emphasis on ‘health’ in advertising without making substantial claims explicitly. This study also reveals that some presentation manners of health-related claims are identified as potentially misleading with child audiences.     

The note of discord: Examining educational perspectives between teachers and Korean parents in the U. S.

This study examined and compared the educational perspectives of Korean parents of elementary school students and their teachers. 430 parents and 143 teachers in the New York metropolitan area participated in the survey and 16 teachers, administrators, and parents were interviewed. The findings indicated that the teachers not only misunderstood the parents' perspectives on the goals of schooling, but also underestimated the parents' ways of supporting their children's education. Regarding the current school/teacher practices, the two groups also expressed different perspectives. We discussed the urgency of educators' critical reflection on diverse cultures and the considerations for increasing parents' school involvement.     

Physical education teachers' beliefs and intentions toward teaching students with disabilities

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB) measures the effect that individuals' behavioral belief normative belief and control beliefs have on their intentions to perform a specific behavior The purpose of this study was to examine: (a) whether the TpB could predict physical educators' intentions and (b) whether physical educators' intentions and control beliefs could predict their self-reported teaching behavior. A sample of 220 physical educators completed the questionnaire. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the TpB significantly predicted physical educators' intentions, F(3, 216) = 57.21, p < .01. However, only intention was a significant predictor of physical educators'self-reported behavior in teaching students with disabilities, F(2, 123) = 34.04, p < .01.     

Lung volumes and maximal respiratory pressures in collegiate swimmers and runners

To determine whether respiratory muscle strength is related to pulmonary volume differences in athletes and nonathletes, 11 intercollegiate female swimmers, 11 female cross-country runners, and two nonathletic control groups, matched to the athletes in height and age, were evaluated for pulmonary parameters including maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) and maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax). Swimmers exhibited larger (p less than .05) vital capacities (VC), residual lung volumes (RV), inspiratory capacities (IC), and functional residual capacities (FRC) than both the runners or the controls but no difference (p greater than .05) in either PImax or inspiratory flow (FIV 25%-75%). Timed expiratory volumes (FEV 0.5 and FEV 1.0) were significantly (p less than .05) lower in the swimmers than in the controls. These data suggest that an adaptational growth may be responsible, in part, for the augmented static lung volumes demonstrated in swimmers.     

Korean Artists in Transcultural Spaces: Constructing New National Identities

This article reports research on New York‐based Korean artists' dynamic processes of identity‐shaping and the implications that these processes have for art education. The study uses postcolonial theories that illuminate the dialectical process of hybrid cultural production in the global dimension. The artists' identities narrated elucidate the recognition of difference with others; this identification emerges as the artists simultaneously escape from and discover their Korean identities. The artists' childhood experiences and memories work as reflective thinking in their different context, and because of their search for an individual identity, Korean culture is an important factor in their art making. When their identity formation and practice are in constant negotiation with difference, this results in learning and translating from others. They assume an ‘open universalism’ necessary to communicate at an international level, and as a consequence these artists' identity formation always involves the process of a doubling and dividing of reflections of existing Korean identities as well as the building of new ones. In this dualistic state, the artists' multiple identities remain heterogeneous, composed of contradictory factors that are revealed in the artists' hybrid artworks.