The No. 1 Question Everybody Working In Evolution Korea Should Be Able To Answer
Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia prompted a major reappraisal the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risk. In Korea this meant a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has requested textbooks publishers to ignore calls for removing examples of evolution from high school science texts. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and the avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has pushed 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 aims to get rid of biology books of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialistic views create a negative image for students, and could lead to their eventual denial of faith.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists across the world reacted with concern. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, complained in an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed up by colleagues across the country, who set up an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks.
Some scientists are worried that the STR could spread to other parts around the world, where the belief in creationism has been increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, especially in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's culture is particularly strong for the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans are members of a religion with the majority of them practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is based on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings are possible through the good deeds of a person.
All of this has created an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have found that students with a religious background to be more uncomfortable learning about evolution than those who don't. The reasons behind this aren't evident. Students who have a religious background may be less familiar with scientific theories, making them more susceptible to creationists' influence. Another possibility is that students who have religious backgrounds tend to view evolution as an atheistic concept, which may make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution programs in schools have raised concern within the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that more than 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that a belief in it would be contrary to their religious beliefs. Despite the fact that creationism has been a huge success in some states, a lot of scientists believe that the best way to counter this movement is not to actively engage in it, but rather to educate the public about the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science, which includes the theory of evolution. They also need to educate the public on the process of scientific research and how knowledge is confirmed. They should also clarify that scientific theories are often challenged and re-examined. However, misunderstandings regarding the nature of scientific research frequently cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
Some people interpret the term "theory" as a hunch or a guess. In science, however, the hypothesis is tested thoroughly and empirical data is used to confirm it. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly becomes a scientific principal.
The debate about evolution theory is an excellent occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is essential that people understand that science is not able to answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather allows living things to develop and adapt.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to the major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require understanding of how science works.
The majority of scientists across the world accept that humans have evolved over time. In our homepage that predicted the views of adults on the consensus on this topic, those with higher levels education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. The people with more religious faith and less science-based knowledge are more likely to disapprove. It is essential that teachers insist on the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus to enable people to make informed choices about health care, energy usage, and other policy matters.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close cousin of the mainstream evolutionary theory. It explores how humans and other organisms learn from each other. Researchers in this field utilize explanatory models and investigative tools that are adapted from the ones used by evolutionary theorists. they go back to human prehistory to determine the origins of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This method also acknowledges the differences between biological and cultural characteristics. While biological traits are generally acquired at once (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. In the end, the emergence of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea, the adoption of Western styles in the latter part of the nineteenth and early 20th century was the result of a complex sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.
Then, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of those trends began to change. At the close of 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 global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown steadily in the last decade and is poised to continue its healthy growth in the future.
The current administration is faced with many challenges. One of the most significant is the inability to come up with a consistent policy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, mainly its overreliance on exports and foreign investment, which may not be sustainable in the long run.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. This means that the government has to reconsider its strategy and come up with other ways to boost the domestic demand. It also needs to revamp the incentive, monitoring, and disciplining systems that are in place to guarantee a stable financial environment. This chapter provides a number of scenarios for how the Korean economy might grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different stages of development and ages. Teachers should, for instance be aware of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students from both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Teachers must also understand common misconceptions about evolution, and how to confront them in their classrooms. Teachers must also be able to access a range of resources that are available to teach evolution and be able locate them quickly.
In this context, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step in bringing together evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum designers. The convergence of different stakeholders led to the development of some common guidelines that will serve as the foundation for future actions.
It is crucial 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 a seamless manner across all life sciences, with a progression of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more comprehensive presentation of evolution is linked to a greater understanding of students and belief in the concept of evolution. However the estimation of causal effects in the classroom is a challenge because school curriculums are not assigned randomly and change over time because of the predetermined timeframe of gubernatorial elections as well as appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this issue I use an ongoing dataset that gives me to control the effects of years and states fixed as well as individual-level differences in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having less personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the hypothesis that faculty who are more confident are less likely to be hesitant about questions about evolution in the classroom. They may also be more inclined to use strategies such as the reconciliatory method that is known to boost the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.