Where Will Evolution Korea 1 Year From In The Near Future?
Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia led to a major rethinking of 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, South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests to remove examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses and the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. 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 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 campaign hit the news, scientists from all over the world expressed concern. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and wrote an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from all over the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some scientists are worried that the STR will expand to other parts of the world, where creationism has been increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
The South Korean culture is especially strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of the country's citizens are members of one of the religious groups and the majority of them adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also follow Ch'ondogyo, an ideology based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony in the social, personal self-cultivation, and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings are possible through good works.
All of this has created fertile ground for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students with a religious background to be more hesitant to learn about evolution as compared to those who do not. The underlying causes are not obvious. One explanation is that students who have a religious background tend not to be as familiar with scientific theories and concepts and are therefore more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students who have religious backgrounds may see evolution as an idea that is agnostic, making them less comfortable.
2. 에볼루션코리아 and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution campaigns in schools have raised concern in the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is not true and that believing in it would conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite the popularity of creationism in certain states, many scientists feel that the best method to stop this trend is not to engage it, but rather to educate the public on the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science that includes the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the science process and how knowledge is gathered and validated. They should explain how scientific theories are often challenged and revised. However, misunderstandings about the nature of scientific research often cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
Some people confuse the word "theory" as a hunch or guess. In the realm of science theories are rigorously tested and verified with empirical evidence. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observation is a scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is a good occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is essential to be aware that science does not answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather allows living things to evolve and evolve.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is important because many jobs and choices require individuals understand how science operates.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved 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 knowledge of science were found to be more likely believe there is a wide agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. The people with more religious beliefs and have less science knowledge are more likely to disapprove. It is important that educators insist on the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus, to enable people to make informed decisions about health care, energy usage and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution focuses on the various ways that humans and other species learn from and interact with each other. Researchers in this field utilize explanation models and tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists. they go back to human prehistory to find out the origins of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also acknowledges the differences between biological and cultural characteristics. While biological traits are typically acquired at once (in sexual species, at fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a lengthy period of time. The acquisition of one characteristic can affect the development and growth of a different.
In Korea for instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th centuries was the result of a variety of events. One of the most important 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 end of World War II, Korea was united once more and again under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has been growing steadily over the past decade and is expected to continue its healthy growth in the coming years.
The current administration is faced with a variety of challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is one the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed the shortcomings in the policies of the country, especially its over-reliance on foreign investment and exports, which may not last.
Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government must reconsider its economic strategy and find alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate, the government will have reform its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. 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 teachers of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. Teachers, for instance, must be aware of the religious diversity of their classrooms and create a space that students who have religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable in learning about evolution. Teachers must also be aware of common misconceptions about evolution and how to confront these in their classrooms. Teachers must also have quick access to the numerous resources to teach evolution.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best methods of teaching Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of different stakeholders helped identify some common guidelines that will form the basis for any 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 a seamless way across the life sciences, with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. Furthermore, a new publication from the NRC provides guidance to schools on how to integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more complete explanation of evolution can lead to a greater understanding of students and belief in the concept of evolution. It is difficult to quantify causal effects in the classroom because school curricula do not change randomly and are dependent on the timing of state board of education and the gubernatorial election. To overcome this problem I utilize an ongoing data set that allows me to control for state and year fixed effects and the individual-level variation in teacher beliefs regarding evolution.
Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution report having less personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the idea that a more confident faculty is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom and might be more likely use strategies such as a reconciliatory approach known to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).