Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia led to a major rethinking of the old system of government and business alliances, as well as public management of risks. In Korea, that required a change in the development model.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers to ignore requests to eliminate examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has pushed textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The decision was the result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), an independent affiliate of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims such materialism portrays a negative image for students, leading them to abandon their faith.
When 에볼루션코리아 made the news, scientists around the world reacted with concern. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from all over the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some scientists are worried that the STR campaign could spread to other regions of the world where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
The South Korean culture is especially strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of the nation's citizens belong to an organized religion and the majority practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy based upon Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo believes that humans are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heaven-bound blessings are possible through good works.
All of this has created an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have found that students who have a religious background to be more uncomfortable learning about evolution as compared to those who do not. However, the underlying reasons for this phenomenon are unclear. One explanation is that students who have religious backgrounds tend to be as knowledgeable about scientific concepts and theories and are therefore more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students with a religious background tend to view evolution as a religious concept which could make them less at ease with the idea.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concerns in the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed that more than 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie, and that a belief in it could be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite the fact that creationism has been a huge success in certain states, many scientists believe that the best strategy to combat this inclination is not to engage it, but to inform the public on the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science, which includes the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the process of science, and how scientific knowledge is collected and validated. They should also explain that theories of science are frequently challenged and reformulated. However, misconceptions about the nature of scientific research often fuel anti-evolution beliefs.
Some people confuse the word "theory" as a guess or guess. In the field of science, however, a hypothesis is rigorously tested, and empirical data is used to prove it. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed is then a scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is an excellent opportunity to discuss the significance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to be aware that science cannot answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather provides a mechanism for living things to develop and adapt.
Moreover, a well-rounded education must include exposure to all the major scientific fields, including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require knowledge of how science works.
The majority of scientists around the world believe that humans have evolved through time. A recent study predicting adults' views of the consensus on this issue found that those with higher levels of education and science knowledge were more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists about human evolution. People with more religious beliefs and have less science knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is crucial that teachers insist on understanding the consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid foundation for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to the mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with one another. Researchers in this field use explanation models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists. they look back to human prehistory to find out the origins of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also recognizes the differences between the characteristics of culture and biological. Cultural traits can be acquired slowly while biological traits are typically acquired at the same time (in the case of sexual species after fertilization). As a result, the acquisition of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea the introduction of Western elements of style in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result a complex sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing styles to Korean society.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s some of these trends began to change. At the end of World War II, Korea was once more united and again under the Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent financial crisis the economy of Korea has been growing steadily over the last decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the near future.
The current government is confronted with many challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent plan to deal with the current economic crisis is one of the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment, which may not last.
Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government needs to review its economic strategy and come up with alternatives to boost domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate, the government will have reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios for how the Korean economy might develop post-crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts in a manner that is appropriate for students of various ages and developmental stages. Teachers must, for example, be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students of both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Teachers must also be able recognize common misconceptions about evolution and know how to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have quick access to the many resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played an important role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss best methods for teaching Evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will form the foundation for future actions.
One of the most important recommendations is that the study of evolution should be incorporated in all science curricula at any level. To accomplish this, the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in a unified manner across all life sciences with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC provides guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have proven that a more complete presentation of evolution is linked to better understanding by students and belief in the existence of evolution. It is difficult to quantify causal effects in the classroom since school curricula don't change randomly and are influenced by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial election. To overcome this problem I employ a longitudinal data set that lets me control for state and year fixed effects and the individual-level variation in teacher beliefs about the evolution of their curriculum.
Another significant finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having less personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the hypothesis that more confident faculty are less likely to be hesitant about questions about evolution in the classroom. They may also be more likely to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method which is used to increase undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution.