Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia prompted a major reappraisal the old system of government and business alliances, and public management of risks. In Korea this required a change in the development model.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has asked textbooks publishers to ignore calls for removing examples of evolution from science texts for high school students. These include the evidence for evolution of horses and the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent offshoot from the Korea Association for Creation Research that wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims that such materialistic views create a negative image for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists around the world reacted with worry. 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 supported by colleagues from across the country, who formed a group named Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR could spread to other parts around the globe, including areas where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution campaign increasing pressure on textbook revisions, particularly in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly significant cultural context for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of the nation's residents belong to a religious denomination and the majority of them adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also follow Ch'ondogyo, the philosophy based on Confucian principles that is a strong advocate of 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 the heavenly blessings are possible through good works.
All of this has created fertile ground for the spread of creationism. A number of studies have demonstrated that students with a religious background tend to feel more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those without religion. The causes behind this are not clear. Students who are religious may be less knowledgeable about the theories of science, making them more vulnerable to creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background tend to view evolution as a religious concept, which may make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was wrong and that it would be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the popularity of creationism, the best way to combat this movement is to educate the public about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science, which includes the theory of evolution. They must also inform the general public about the scientific process and how knowledge from science is gathered and confirmed. They should also explain how scientific theories are often challenged and changed. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to a negative view of evolution.
For example, some people confuse the term "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a guess or a guess. In science, however a hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical data is used to confirm it. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed becomes a scientific principle.
The debate about the evolutionary theory provides a great opportunity to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to be aware that science does not provide answers to questions about life's purpose or meaning, but provides a mechanism for living things to evolve and change.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because a lot of jobs and decisions require that people know how science operates.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have changed over time. A recent study predicting adults' view of the consensus on this subject found that those with higher education levels and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe there is a consensus between scientists regarding human evolution. The people who have more religious beliefs but less science knowledge tend to be more divided. It is crucial that teachers emphasize the importance of understanding the consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid foundation for making informed decisions about their health care, energy use, and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution focuses on the various ways that humans and other species learn from and interact with one another. Researchers in this field utilize elaborate models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists. they reach back into human prehistory to determine the origins of our capacity to learn about culture.
Suggested Internet site acknowledges the differences between biological and cultural characteristics. Cultural traits can be acquired gradually, whereas biological traits are typically acquired simultaneously (in sexual species, at fertilization). This means that the acquisition of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea, for example the emergence of Western fashion elements in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century was the result of a variety of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these changes began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more united and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown consistently over the past decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the future.
The current government has many challenges to face. One of the biggest is the inability to come up with an effective strategy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has revealed weaknesses in the country's policies particularly its dependence on foreign investment and exports which could not last.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. This means that the government must reconsider its approach and find ways to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate, the government will have to overhaul its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various ages and stages of development. Teachers, for instance, must be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create an environment where students with both religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable learning evolution. Moreover, teachers need to be aware of the most common misconceptions about evolution and how to confront these in their classrooms. Teachers must also have quick access to the various resources to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation had a key role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best methods for teaching Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of diverse participants helped to identify the common recommendations that will serve as the basis for any future actions.
A key recommendation is that the subject of evolution should be included in all science curricula at any level. To achieve this, the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a unified manner across all sciences using a sequence of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. A new publication from NRC provides guidelines to schools about how to incorporate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have shown that a more comprehensive teaching of evolution is associated with more knowledge and belief in the existence of evolution. However the estimation of the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is challenging due to the fact that school curriculums are not assigned randomly and change in time as a result of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this limitation I employ an ongoing data set that allows me to account for state and year fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about changes in the curriculum.
Another significant finding is that teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution report having less personal barriers to teaching it. This is in line with the notion that more confident faculty are less likely to be hesitant about questions about evolution in the classroom, and may be more likely to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method that is known to boost the students' understanding of evolution.