Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that hit Asia required a major review of the old system of business-government alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea this required a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision the South Korean government has asked textbook publishers to ignore requests to remove examples of evolution in high school science texts. This includes the evidence for evolution of horses as well as the Avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The move was a result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to get rid of textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates an image of negativity for students, leading them to be skeptical.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists from all over the world expressed alarm. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and wrote a letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. 에볼루션코리아 was supported by colleagues from all over the country who gathered into a group called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Researchers are worried about the possibility that the STR campaign will be spread to other parts of the globe, where the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the evolution debate. 26 percent of the nation's residents belong to one of the religious groups and the majority of them adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also follow Ch'ondogyo, the philosophy based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun, and that divine blessings can be achieved by doing good deeds.
similar site of this has provided an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. A number of studies have demonstrated that students who have religion-based backgrounds tend to be more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those who are not religious. However, the root reasons for this phenomenon are not clear. Students with a religious background might be less experienced with scientific theories, making them more susceptible to the creationists' influence. Another factor could be that those with a religious background may view evolution as a concept that is atheistic, making them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, the scientific community has been concerned about the anti-evolution agenda in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that believing in it would be contrary to their faith-based beliefs. Despite the popularity of creationism in certain states, many scientists feel that the best method to stop this trend is not to actively engage in it, but rather to inform people about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are responsible to instruct their students in science including the theory of evolution. They should also inform people about the scientific process and how knowledge from science is gathered and verified. They must also explain that scientific theories are often challenged and re-examined. However, misunderstandings regarding the nature of scientific research frequently cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
For instance, some people are able to confuse the term "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word, which is a hunch or guess. In the field of science, however, the hypothesis is tested thoroughly and empirical data is used to prove it. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly is then a scientific principle.
The debate over evolutionary theory is an excellent occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to realize that science is unable to answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism through which living organisms can develop and adapt.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require a understanding of how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved through time. In a recent study, which predicted the views of adults on the consensus on this topic those with higher levels of education and science knowledge were found to be more likely believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists about human evolution. People with a higher level of religious belief but less scientific knowledge tend to be more divided. It is essential that teachers emphasize the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus so that people can make informed choices about energy use, health care and other issues of policy.
3. 에볼루션 코리아 and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close relative of the popular evolutionary theory. It examines how humans and other organisms learn from each other. Researchers in this field use elaborate models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists. they go back to human prehistory to find out the genesis of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This method also acknowledges the distinction between biological and cultural traits. While biological traits are largely acquired at once (in sexual species, during fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. In the end, the emergence of one cultural characteristic can affect the development of another.
In Korea for instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the result of a complex series of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing styles and hairstyles to Korean society.
After that, when Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, a few of those trends began to revert. At the close of World War II, Korea was once again united, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown steadily in the past decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the future.
The current government faces numerous challenges. The inability of the government to come up with a coherent strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is one the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, including its excessive dependence on foreign investment and exports that may not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government must rethink its economic strategy and find alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government will need to overhaul its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in the post-crisis period.
4. Evolution and Education
One of the biggest challenges for evolution educators is how to present evolutionary concepts in a manner that is appropriate for students of various levels of development and ages. Teachers must, for example, be sensitive to the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students from both secular and religious beliefs feel comfortable. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions about evolution and know how to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have easy access to the numerous resources to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation had a key role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss best methods for teaching about Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of diverse stakeholders led to the development of the common recommendations which will serve as the foundation for future actions.
One important recommendation is that the study of evolution should be integrated in all science curricula at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences, with an educational progression that is developmental appropriate, are a method to achieve this goal. A new publication from the NRC provides guidelines to schools about how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more thorough explanation of evolution can lead to better understanding by students and belief in evolution. It is difficult to estimate the causality of teaching in the classroom since school curricula don't change in a random manner and are influenced by the timing of state boards of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this problem I utilize a longitudinal data set which lets me control for fixed state and year effects and the individual-level variation in teacher beliefs regarding the evolution of their curriculum.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution have less internal barriers. This is in line with the idea that faculty who are more confident are less likely to be hesitant about evolution-related topics in the classroom. They may also be more inclined to employ strategies like a reconciliatory method which is used to increase the students' understanding of evolution.