Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept Asia forced a major reappraisal of the old model of government-business alliances and public management of private risks. In Korea this meant a shift in the development paradigm.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers to ignore calls to eliminate examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes the evidence of the evolution of horses as well as the Avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has persuaded textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high-school science texts. The decision was the result of a campaign run by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), an independent branch 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 views create a negative image for students and can lead to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists from all over the world expressed worry when the STR campaign gained attention. 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. His colleagues backed him from all over the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR will expand to other parts of the world, where creationism has been growing. 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 especially strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of the country's residents belong to one of the religious groups, and most adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - an ideology based on Confucian principles, which emphasizes harmony in the social, personal 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 divine blessings are achievable through good works.
All of this has made creationism fertile ground. Multiple studies have shown students with a religious background to be more reluctant to learn about evolution than those who don't. The reasons behind this aren't clear. One possible explanation is that students with religious backgrounds tend to be as knowledgeable about scientific theories and concepts and are therefore more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background tend to view evolution as an atheistic concept which could make them less at ease with the idea.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years the scientific community has 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. Despite the success of creationism in certain states, many scientists feel that the best method to combat this inclination is not to actively engage in it, but rather to inform the public about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists have a duty to teach their students about science, including the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the process of scientific research and the way in which knowledge is confirmed. They should also clarify that scientific theories are often challenged and revised. However, misconceptions about the nature of scientific research frequently cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
Many people mistake the term "theory" as a hunch, or a guess. In science, however a hypothesis is rigorously tested, and empirical data is used to verify it. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific principle.
The debate over the evolutionary theory provides a great occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to be aware that science cannot answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather provides a mechanism for living things to evolve and evolve.
Moreover, a well-rounded education must include exposure to all major fields of science that include evolutionary biology. This is important because many jobs and choices require individuals understand the way science operates.
The majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved over time. A recent study that predicted adults' view of the consensus on this subject found that those who had higher levels of education and science knowledge were more likely to believe there is a general consensus among scientists on the subject of human evolution. The people with more religious beliefs and have less knowledge of science are more likely to disapprove. It is essential that educators insist on understanding the consensus on this issue to ensure that individuals have a solid foundation for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to the popular evolutionary theory, cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and interact with one another. Researchers in this field utilize explanation models and tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists, and they reach back into human prehistory to determine the genesis of our capacity to learn about culture.
This method also acknowledges the difference between cultural and biological traits. Cultural traits can be acquired slowly, whereas biological traits are usually acquired simultaneously (in sexual species, at fertilization). In the end, the acquisition of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea the emergence of Western styles in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result an elaborate sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and styles of clothing to Korean society.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once again united and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown steadily in the last decade and is poised to sustain its steady growth in the near future.
However, the current administration has many challenges to face. One of the most serious is its inability to find an effective strategy to tackle the economic crisis. The crisis has revealed the shortcomings of the country's economic policies, particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment that may not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government must reconsider its approach and find other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate the government needs reform its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop in the post-crisis period.
4. Evolution and Education
One of the biggest challenges for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts in a way that is suitable for students of different ages and developmental stages. Teachers, for instance, must be sensitive to the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a space that students who have religious and secular views feel comfortable in learning about evolution. Teachers should also be able recognize common misconceptions regarding evolution and know how to address them in the classroom. Additionally, teachers should be able to access a range of resources to teach evolution and be able locate them quickly.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step in bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of disciplines to discuss best methods for teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, government funding agency officials and curriculum designers. The convergence of various participants helped to identify some common guidelines that will serve as the basis for any future actions.
One important recommendation is that the subject of evolution should be incorporated in all science curricula at any level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences, with the developmentally appropriate, are a method to achieve this goal. Furthermore, a new publication from the NRC provides guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more thorough explanation of evolution can lead to a greater understanding of students and belief in the existence of evolution. It is difficult to estimate the causal effects of evolution 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 election. To overcome this issue I employ an ongoing data set that lets me control for state and year fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about evolution.
see this is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching evolution report having less intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the hypothesis that more experienced faculty are less likely to avoid questions about evolution in the classroom, and may be more inclined to use strategies like a reconciliatory method that is known to boost the students' understanding of evolution.