Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia prompted a major reappraisal the traditional system of government, business alliances, and 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 to ignore calls to remove examples of evolution in science books for high school students. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses and the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. This was the result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), an independent offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid biology books of "atheist materialism." The STR asserts that such materialism creates negative images to students, making them abandon their faith.
Scientists from all over the world expressed worry when the STR campaign was featured in the news. 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 around the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Researchers are also worried about the possibility that the STR campaign could spread to other parts of the globe where the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, particularly in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the evolution debate. 26 percent of the country's citizens belong to one of the religious groups and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is that is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo is a way of teaching that 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 made creationism a fertile ground. Numerous studies have revealed that students with religious backgrounds are more hesitant when learning about evolution than those who do not have a religious background. However, the underlying causes of this phenomenon are not known. Students who are religious may not be as experienced with scientific theories, which makes them more vulnerable to creationists influence. Another reason could be that those with religious backgrounds might view evolution as a belief system that is atheistic, making them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A 2009 survey revealed that over 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is not true and that a belief in it could be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite the success of creationism in certain states, many scientists feel that the best strategy to stop this trend is not to engage it, but rather to educate 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 verified. They should also explain that theories of science are often challenged and revised. However, misconceptions about the nature of scientific research frequently cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
For example, some people may confuse the word "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word, which is a hunch or guess. However, in science the theory is rigorously tested and verified with evidence. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly becomes a scientific principle.
The debate on evolution theory is an excellent occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific methodology and its limits. It is important to realize that science is unable to answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism that allows living things to grow and change.
A comprehensive education should include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require understanding of how science functions.
The majority of scientists across the world agree that humans have changed over time. In a recent study, which predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus on this topic people with higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists about the evolution of humans. People with more religious beliefs and less knowledge of science are more likely to disapprove. It is essential that educators emphasize the importance of knowing the general consensus on this issue, so 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 cousin to mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution explores the many ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and interact with one another. Researchers in this field use explanatory tools and investigative models derived from evolutionary theorists and reach back to the prehistoric human to determine the earliest sources of culture.
This method also acknowledges the difference between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are generally inherited all at once (in sexual species, at fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of a cultural characteristic can affect the growth and development of another.
In Korea For instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter part of the 19th century and the early 20th century was a result of a variety of events. 무료에볼루션 of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western clothing and hairstyles.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s, a few of these changes began to reverse. By the end World War II, Korea was once again united and again under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent financial crisis the economy of Korea has been growing steadily over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the future.
However, the current administration faces numerous challenges. The inability of the government to come up with a coherent strategy to tackle the current economic crisis is one the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses in the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment which could not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. This means that the government has to rethink its strategy and find other ways to increase domestic demand. It also needs to overhaul 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
The biggest challenge for evolution educators is how to present evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students at various ages and developmental stages. Teachers need to, for instance be aware of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students with both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Additionally, teachers must be aware of common misconceptions about evolution and how to address them in their classrooms. Teachers must also have quick access to the many resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from different sectors to discuss best methods for teaching about Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as 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.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula, at every level. To achieve this goal the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a unified way across the life sciences, with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from NRC provides guidelines for schools on how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have shown that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution is linked to higher levels of student understanding and belief in evolution. However it is difficult to determine causal effects in the classroom is difficult given that school curricula are not assigned randomly and evolve in time as a result of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and state board of education appointments. To overcome this problem I employ a longitudinal data set that gives me to control the fixed effects of state and years and individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Another significant finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching about evolution report having fewer personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the notion that a faculty with more confidence is less likely to avoid discussing evolution subjects in the classroom. They also may be more likely to use strategies such as a reconciliatory approach known to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).