Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of pain and the perceptions of treatment through a traditional Korean medicine clinical trial in patients with non-acute pain after back surgery. Methods: The data collection was recorded through in-depth interviews with 20 participants and transcribed with verbatim. The data were analyzed with qualitative contents analysis. Results: Patients with persistent or recurring pain after back surgery experienced physical and psychological symptoms that resulted in severe difficulties in daily and working life. Their persistent or recurring pain after surgery was a burden in their life and a major source of depression. Because of the difference in the perception of pain between doctors and patients, the patients continuously sought and received various treatments. The patients also wanted to receive customized self-management in exercise so that they could control pain themselves in daily life. Conclusion: A multidisciplinary approach that includes psychological counseling, pain management, individualized exercise, and education for proper posture should be needed to reduce low back pain in patients with pain after back surgery.

In the dearth of pre-service and in-service teacher education in gifted education, particularly in foreign language education, teachers have difficulty in learning theory and principle. This study describes the secondary teachers" perception of gifted education in foreign language after they participated in a teacher training program. The research questions are: 1) How did the teachers perceive gifted education?; and 2) Did the teacher training program influence the teachers" perception of gifted education? If so, in what ways did it influence the teachers? The data include surveys of the 21 teachers, their class assignments and observations. This qualitative case study indicates despite the teachers" initial negative perception of gifted education, the program helped them see it in a renewed perspective. Briefly, through the program, the teachers familiarized themselves with the basic theory and principle in gifted education. More importantly, they gained hands-on experience by discussing various issues in gifted education and creating class materials. The study concludes with pedagogical implications.

In this global era, many Korean parents want to educate their children in an L2 school to acquire communicative competence. In order to give parents and educators educated understanding of what early childhood English education in an L2 preschool involves, this paper makes a detailed description of a Korean preschool child's L2 socialization process. The data were collected through participant observation, interviews, and field-notes, and analyzed qualitatively. The findings briefly illustrate daily routine activities at home and school became a rich source of linguistic input. In particular, daily interactive activities at school helped the child learn many linguistic and sociocultural rules of American society. Yet, given that most nonnative children - including the informant - displayed some emotional distance toward native speakers and thereby did not actively participate in classroom activities, the findings suggest a need for more structured L2 curriculum. The study also indicates that, for young learners, parental assistance can play a key role in their L2 socialization, and in this sense, parents should be able to understand their children's needs at school and provide necessary assistance.