Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept across Asia caused a major review of the old system of government and business alliances, as well as public management of risk. In Korea this 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. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and the Avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. 에볼루션 게이밍 and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has persuaded textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from high-school science texts. The decision was the result of a campaign led by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), an independent affiliate of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students and leads to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists from all over the world expressed concern when the STR campaign was featured in the news. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in a letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from across the country who gathered into a group named Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR campaign could spread to other regions of the world where the belief in the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will increase pressure for textbook revisions in other countries, particularly those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans are part of a religion and the majority of them practice 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 the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings can be achieved by doing good deeds.
All of this has created fertile ground for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students who have a religious background tend to be more uncomfortable about learning about evolution than students without religion. The underlying causes are not clear. Students with a religious background might be less knowledgeable about scientific theories, which makes them more susceptible to the creationists' influence. Another factor could be that students who have a religious background may view evolution as a concept that is not a religion, which makes them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent times the scientific community has been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is not true and that believing in it would be contrary to their convictions about religion. Despite the success of creationism in some states, a lot of scientists believe that the best method to counter this movement is not to be actively involved in it, but to inform people about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are accountable to teach 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 validated. They should also clarify that scientific theories are frequently challenged and revised. However, misperceptions regarding the nature of scientific research often cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
For example, some people confuse the term "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a guess or guess. In science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical data is used to prove it. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observation becomes an established scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is an excellent opportunity to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to understand that science cannot answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but rather allows living things to grow and change.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because a lot of jobs and decisions require people know how science operates.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved through time. A recent study predicting adults' view of the consensus on this subject found that those who had higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe that there is a general consensus among scientists about human evolution. The people with more religious faith and less science knowledge are more likely to disapprove. It is essential that educators emphasize the importance of understanding the general consensus on this issue, so that people have a solid foundation for making informed decisions about their health care, energy usage and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the popular evolutionary theory, cultural evolution focuses on the various ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with one another. Researchers in this area use elaborate tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and go back to the prehistoric human to determine the origins of culture.
This approach also acknowledges the distinction between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are largely inherited all at once (in sexual species, at fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. The acquisition of one characteristic can influence the growth and development of another.
In Korea the emergence of Western elements of style in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result an intricate sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing styles and hairstyles to Korean society.
Then, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, a few of those trends began to revert. By the end of World War II, Korea had once again unified, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown steadily in the past decade and is poised to continue its healthy growth in the near future.
The current government is confronted by a myriad of problems. The inability of the government to develop a coherent strategy to address the current economic crisis is among the biggest obstacles. The crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, mainly its overreliance on foreign investment and exports, which may not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government needs to reconsider its strategy and come up with other ways to increase domestic demand. It must also revamp the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems that are in place to guarantee the stability of the financial system. This chapter provides a number of scenarios for how the Korean economy could develop in a post-crisis world.
4. Evolution and Education
One of the biggest challenges for educators of evolution is how to teach evolutionary concepts in a way that is suitable for students of various ages and developmental stages. Teachers need to, for instance be mindful of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create an environment where students with both secular and religious beliefs feel comfortable. Teachers must also understand the most common misconceptions about evolution and how to deal with them in their classrooms. Teachers must also have quick access to the numerous resources available to teach evolution.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of disciplines to discuss best methods for teaching about evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational researchers, as well as officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders resulted in a consensus set of recommendations that will form the basis for future action.
It is important to include evolution in all science curricula at every level. To achieve this 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 the NRC provides guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more comprehensive presentation of evolution is linked to greater student understanding and belief in evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causality of teaching in the classroom since school curricula do not change on a regular basis and are dependent on the timing of state board of education and the gubernatorial election. To overcome this limitation I employ a longitudinal data set that lets me control for year and state fixed effects and the individual-level variation in the beliefs of teachers about evolution.
Another important finding is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching about evolution report having fewer personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the notion that faculty who are more confident are less likely to be hesitant about questions about evolution in the classroom, and could be more inclined to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method that is known to boost undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution.