Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept across Asia led to a major rethinking of the old system of government and business alliances, as well the public management of risks. In Korea, that meant an evolution of the development model.
In a controversial move, South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution from high school science books. These include the evidence of the evolution of horses and of the Avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. The Society for Textbook Revise, an offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims that such materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students, and could lead to their eventual denial of faith.
Scientists around the globe expressed concern when the STR campaign made headlines. In a letter to the editor of Nature, evolutionary biologist Jae Choe at Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues from across the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Some researchers are also worried about the possibility 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-evolution campaign increasing pressure on textbook revisions, especially in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's cultural background is particularly strong for the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans belong to of a religion, with the majority practicing Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, a lot of Koreans adhere to Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy that is based on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches the human being is one with Hanulnim the God of Sun and that the heavenly blessings can be achieved by doing good deeds.
All of this has provided fertile ground for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students with a religious background tend to be more uncomfortable about learning about evolution than students who do not have a religious background. However, 에볼루션 코리아 underlying reasons for this phenomenon are not known. One explanation is that students who have a religious background tend not to be as knowledgeable about scientific concepts and theories, which makes them more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another factor could be that students with religious backgrounds might view evolution as an idea that is agnostic, making them feel less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, the scientific community has been concerned about anti-evolution efforts in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was a myth and that it would be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite the success of creationism in some states, a lot of scientists feel that the best method to stop this trend is not to actively engage in it, but rather to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists have a duty to instruct their students in science and the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the science process and how knowledge is gathered and validated. They should explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and changed. However, misperceptions about the nature of scientific research frequently cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
Some people interpret the term "theory" as a hunch or guess. In science, however, a theory is rigorously tested and verified through empirical data. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly is then a scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is a good occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is important to understand that science cannot answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but instead allows living things to develop and adapt.
Moreover, a well-rounded education should cover all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because the jobs people are employed in and the decisions they make require a knowledge of how science works.
The majority of scientists around the world believe that humans have evolved through time. In a recent study, which predicted adults' views of the consensus around this issue those with higher levels of education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely believe there is a wide agreement among scientists regarding human evolution. Those with more religious faith but less scientific knowledge tend to disagree more. It is essential that educators insist on knowing the consensus on this issue, so that people have a solid basis for making informed decisions about their health care, energy usage and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to the popular evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and interact with each other. Researchers in this field use explanatory models and investigative tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists, and they reach back into human prehistory to determine the origins of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also acknowledges that there are some differences between the characteristics of culture and biological. Cultural traits can be acquired gradually, whereas biological traits are typically acquired at the same time (in sexual species at fertilization). The acquisition of a cultural characteristic can influence the development and growth of another.
In Korea For instance the introduction of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th centuries was the result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s some of these trends began to change. By the end World War II, Korea was united once more, this time under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown consistently over the last decade and is expected to continue its healthy growth in the coming years.
However, the current government is facing a variety of challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent plan to deal with the current economic crisis is among the biggest challenges. The crisis has exposed weaknesses of the country's policies and its reliance on foreign investment and exports that may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government must review its economic strategy and come up with alternative ways to boost domestic demand. It must also revamp the incentive monitoring, control, and discipline systems in place to guarantee a stable financial environment. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different levels of development and ages. Teachers, for instance, must be sensitive to the religious diversity of their classrooms and create a setting that students who have religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable in learning about evolution. Teachers must be able to recognize common misconceptions about evolution and know how to correct them in the classroom. Additionally, teachers should have access to a variety of resources available to teach evolution and be able to locate them quickly.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation had a key role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss best practices for teaching Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, government funding agency officials and curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse parties helped to identify a shared set of recommendations that will serve as the basis for future actions.
One of the most important recommendations is that the subject of evolution should be incorporated in all science curricula at any level. To achieve this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in an integrated manner across all life sciences with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from NRC provides guidelines to schools about how to incorporate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more thorough presentation of evolution is linked to a greater understanding of students and belief in the concept of evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causal effects of evolution in the classroom, since school curricula do not change randomly and are dependent on the timing of the state board of education and gubernatorial election. To overcome this problem I use a longitudinal dataset that allows me control for state and years fixed effects as well as individual-level differences in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Teachers who are more comfortable in teaching evolution have less internal barriers. This is in line with the idea that more confident faculty are less likely to be hesitant about evolution-related topics in the classroom, and may be more likely to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method known to increase the students' understanding of evolution.