Evolution Korea
The economic crisis which swept Asia prompted a major reappraisal the old system of government and business alliances, and public management of risk. In Korea this required a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to eliminate examples of evolution in science books for high school students. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and of the bird an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has convinced textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent offshoot from the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to cleanse biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims such materialism portrays an image of negativity for students, making them abandon their faith.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists around the world reacted with alarm. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature evolutionary biologist Jae Choe from Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues across the country, who set up an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR will expand to other parts of the globe, where creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, especially those with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's culture is especially strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are part of a religion and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is founded on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings can be achieved through good works.
All of this has made creationism a fertile ground. Multiple studies have shown students with a religious background to be more hesitant to learn about evolution as compared to those who do not. The causes behind this are not evident. Students with a religious background might be less familiar with the theories of science, making them more susceptible to the creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background are more likely to see evolution as a religious concept which could make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, the scientific community has been concerned about the anti-evolution agenda in schools. A study conducted in 2009 found that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is wrong and that believing in it could be in conflict with their faith-based beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the fact that creationism has been successful the best method to counter this belief is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists have a duty to teach their students about science and the theory of evolution. They should also educate the public on the research process and how knowledge is verified. They should also clarify that scientific theories are often challenged and re-examined. However, misunderstandings regarding the nature of scientific research often create anti-evolution beliefs.
Many people mistake the term "theory" as a guess, or a guess. In science, however the hypothesis is tested thoroughly and empirical data is used to confirm it. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed becomes a scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is a good opportunity to discuss the significance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to understand that science does not provide answers to questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather offers a way for living things to grow and evolve.
A comprehensive education should include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and choices require individuals understand the way science works.
The vast majority of scientists around world accept that humans have changed over time. In a recent study that predicted adults' views of the consensus around this issue people with higher levels of education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely to believe that there is wide consensus among scientists on the evolution of humans. People with a higher level of religious belief but less science knowledge tend to be more divided. It is essential that educators insist on knowing the consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid basis for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a cousin of the mainstream evolutionary theory. It examines how organisms like humans learn from one another. Researchers in this area use explanation tools and models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and go back to human prehistory to determine the earliest sources of culture.
This approach also acknowledges the distinction between biological and cultural traits. While biological traits are generally inherited all at once (in sexual species, after fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. The acquisition of one cultural characteristic can influence the development and growth of another.
In Korea the introduction of Western styles in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth century was the result of an intricate sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of those trends began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more united but this time under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the financial crisis of recent, Korea's economy has been growing steadily over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the future.
However, 에볼루션코리아 faces numerous challenges. One of the most serious is its inability to develop a consistent policy to address the economic crisis. The crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, particularly its dependence on foreign investment and exports that may not be sustainable in the long run.
The financial crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government must reconsider its strategy and come up with ways to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable and stable financial environment, the government will have to overhaul its incentive, monitoring and discipline systems. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could develop in the post-crisis period.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students at various levels of development and ages. Teachers should, for instance be aware of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students of both religious and secular perspectives are comfortable. Teachers must also recognize common misconceptions about evolution and how to address these in their classrooms. Teachers must also have quick access to the many resources to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching Evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational researchers, government funding agency officials, and curriculum developers. The convergence of different participants helped to identify a set of shared recommendations that will serve as the foundation for future actions.
It is essential to incorporate evolution in all science curricula at every level. To achieve this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in an integrated manner across all life sciences, with a progression of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. A new publication from NRC provides guidelines to schools about how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
A number of studies have demonstrated that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution is linked to more knowledge and belief in the existence of evolution. However, estimating the causal effect of evolution in the classroom is challenging due to the fact that school curriculums are not assigned randomly and evolve over time because of the predetermined dates of gubernatorial election and appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this issue I employ an ongoing data set that allows me to account for state and year fixed effects and individual-level variation in the beliefs of teachers about the evolution of their curriculum.
Teachers who are more comfortable in teaching evolution have fewer internal barriers. This is consistent with the hypothesis that a faculty with more confidence is less likely to avoid tackling evolution topics in the classroom and might be more likely employ strategies like the reconciliatory approach that has been proven to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).