Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept across Asia caused a major review of the old system of government and business alliances, and public management of risk. In Korea this meant an evolution of the development paradigm.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and the avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from high school science texts. 에볼루션사이트 for Textbook Revise, an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to cleanse biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the move. The STR claims that this kind of materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists across the globe expressed concern when the STR campaign gained attention. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature evolutionary biologist Jae Choe from Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues around the country, who set up a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Some researchers are also worried that the STR campaign will be spread to other parts of the world where the belief in the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolutionist movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, notably those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.
The South Korean culture is particularly strong for the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans belong to of a religious community and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - the philosophy based on Confucian principles, which emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation, and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo is a way of teaching that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings are achievable by doing good deeds.
All of this has created a fertile field. Several studies have shown that students who have a religious background tend to be more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those who are not religious. However, the root causes of this phenomenon are not clear. Students who have a religious background might be less familiar with scientific theories, which makes them more susceptible to the creationists' influence. Another reason could be that students with religious beliefs are more likely to view evolution as an atheistic concept and therefore less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concerns among the scientific community. A survey in 2009 revealed that 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was not true and that it would be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that despite the success of creationism the best way to combat this movement is to educate the public on the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science, which includes the theory of evolution. They also need to educate the public on the research process and the way in which knowledge is confirmed. They must also clarify that scientific theories are often challenged and revised. However, misperceptions about the nature of scientific research frequently fuel anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, some people may confuse the word "theory" with the normal meaning of the word - a guess or guess. In science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical evidence is used to prove it. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observation is an established scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is a good occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial for people to understand that science cannot answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life but it is merely a means through which living organisms can grow and change.
Moreover, a well-rounded education must include exposure to the vast majority of scientific fields that include evolutionary biology. This is particularly important because the jobs that people have and the decisions they make require a understanding of how science functions.
The vast majority of scientists around the world believe that humans have evolved over time. A recent study predicting adults' views of the consensus on this subject found that those who had higher levels of education and knowledge of science were more likely to believe there is a consensus among scientists on the subject of human evolution. The people who have more religious beliefs but less science knowledge tend to be more divided. It is critical that educators insist on the importance of understanding the consensus on this issue to ensure that individuals have a solid basis for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy usage and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution studies the numerous ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and interact with one another. Researchers in this field employ elaborate tools and investigative models derived from evolutionary theorists and reach back to human prehistory to determine the origins of culture.
This method also acknowledges that there are differences between the characteristics of culture and biological. While biological traits are typically acquired in one go (in sexual species, during fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of one characteristic may affect the development and growth of another.
In Korea for instance the emergence of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century was a result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing styles to Korean society.
After that, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, a few of these trends began revert. At the end of World War II, Korea was once more united, this time under the Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown consistently over the last decade and is expected to maintain its steady growth in the near future.
The current government has many challenges to face. One of the most serious is its inability to develop a coherent policy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses in the country's policies particularly its dependence on foreign investment and exports that may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government has to rethink its economic strategy and look for alternatives to boost domestic demand. It also needs to reform the incentive monitoring, control, and discipline systems that are currently in place to ensure a stable financial environment. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
A fundamental challenge for educators of evolution is how to present evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students of different age groups and developmental stages. Teachers must, for example be mindful of the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students from both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Teachers should be able to recognize common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Finally, teachers must have access to a variety of resources that are available to teach evolution and be able locate them quickly.
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. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of diverse participants helped to identify the common recommendations which will serve as the basis for future actions.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula, at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) that call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences with an educational progression that is developmental appropriate, are one way to achieve this goal. A new publication from the NRC offers guidelines for schools on how to integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
A number of studies have demonstrated that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution is associated with more knowledge and belief in evolution. It is difficult to determine causal effects in the classroom because the curriculum for schools do not change randomly and are affected by the timing of state board of education and the gubernatorial election. To overcome this problem I use an ongoing dataset that gives me to control for state and years fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers regarding evolutionary theory.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution also have less internal barriers. This is in line with the idea that more confident faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom, and may be more inclined to employ strategies such as a reconciliatory approach which is used to increase the students' understanding of evolution.