Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that hit Asia caused a significant rethinking of the old model of government-business alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea, that meant a shift in the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision, South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers to ignore calls to eliminate examples of evolution from high school science books. This includes the evidence supporting the evolution of horses as well as the avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. 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 such materialism portrays a negative image for students, causing them to abandon their faith.
When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists around the world reacted with alarm. In a letter to the editor of Nature the evolutionary biologist Jae Choe at Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from all over the country, who formed a group named Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some scientists are concerned that the STR campaign could spread to other regions of the world where the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement could push for textbook revisions in other countries, notably those with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's culture is particularly strong for the debate on evolution. Twenty-six percent of the country's citizens belong to a religious denomination and the majority of them adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - an ideology based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony in the social, personal self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo is a belief system that teaches that humans are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that the heavenly blessings can be derived through the good deeds of a person.
All of this has created a fertile field. Several studies have shown that students who have a religious background are more hesitant when learning about evolution than those who do not have a religious background. The causes behind this are not clear. Students who are religious might be less knowledgeable about the theories of science, making them more vulnerable to creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students with religious beliefs are more likely to view evolution as an atheistic idea and therefore less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution programs in schools have caused concern within the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is not true and that a belief in it would conflict with their convictions about religion. Despite the success of creationism in some states, many scientists feel that the best way to combat this inclination is not to be actively involved in with it, but rather inform people about the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists are required to educate their students about science and the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the process of scientific research and how knowledge is confirmed. They should also explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and modified. However, misconceptions about the nature of research conducted by scientists often create anti-evolution beliefs.
For example, some people are able to confuse the term "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. In the field of 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 principle.
The debate about evolution theory is an excellent occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to realize that science is unable to answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life but it is merely a means by which living things can develop and adapt.
A comprehensive education should 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 the way science works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have changed over time. In a recent study, which predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus on this subject people with higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. The people with more religious faith and less science knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is crucial that educators insist on the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus to enable people to make informed decisions regarding energy use, health care and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close relative of the popular evolutionary theory. It explores the ways that humans and other species learn from one another. Researchers in this field use explanatory tools and investigative models derived from evolutionary theorists and reach back to the prehistoric human to determine the origins of culture.
This method also acknowledges that there are some differences between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are largely acquired in one go (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a lengthy period of time. This means that the acquisition of one cultural trait can influence the development of another.
In Korea For instance the introduction of Western fashion elements in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th centuries was the result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most important was the appearance in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s, a few of these trends began to reverse. By the end of World War II, Korea was once more united, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent the economy of Korea has been growing consistently over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the future.
The current government is confronted with many challenges. One of the biggest is its inability to develop a consistent policy to address the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment which could not last.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. As a result, the government has to reconsider its strategy and come up with other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate, the government will have to reform its incentive, monitoring and discipline systems. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in the post-crisis era.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators lies in how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. For example, teachers must be aware of the religious diversity of their classrooms and create an environment where students with secular and religious views feel comfortable learning evolution. Moreover, teachers need to recognize common misconceptions about evolution, and how to confront them in their classrooms. Teachers must also have easy access to the numerous resources available to teach evolution.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation had a key role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching about Evolution. sneak a peek at this web-site. included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as government funding agency officials and curriculum developers. The convergence of diverse stakeholders led to the development of some common guidelines that will serve as the basis for any future actions.
One of the most important recommendations is that the study of evolution should be integrated in every science curriculum at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC), which call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences with an educational progression that is developmental appropriate, are one way to accomplish this goal. Additionally, 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 complete presentation of evolution leads to greater student understanding and belief in evolution. It is difficult to determine the causality of teaching in the classroom because school curricula don't change randomly and are influenced by the timing of the state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this issue, i use an ongoing dataset that gives me control for the effects of years and states fixed as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about evolutionary theory.
Another important finding is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching evolution report having less intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is consistent with the hypothesis that a faculty with more confidence is less likely to avoid tackling evolution topics in the classroom and could be more likely to use strategies such as a reconciliatory approach known to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).