The No. 1 Question Everyone Working In Evolution Korea Should Be Able Answer
Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that hit Asia forced a major reappraisal of the old system of business-government alliances and the management by the public of private risks. In Korea this meant a shift in the development model.
In a controversial decision the South Korean government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests for the removal of examples of evolution in high school science textbooks. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and the bird 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 affiliate of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid biology books of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates an image of negativity for students, leading them to be skeptical.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists across the world expressed worry. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, complained in an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from across the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR will expand to other parts of the globe, where creationism is growing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolutionist movement will intensify pressure for revisions to textbooks in other countries, especially those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of the nation's citizens are members of a religious denomination, and most practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy that is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo is a belief system that teaches that humans are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings can be derived through the good deeds of a person.
All of this has created an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Numerous studies have revealed that students with religious backgrounds tend to feel more uncomfortable about learning about evolution than students who do not have a religious background. The reasons behind this aren't clear. Students who are religious may not be as knowledgeable about scientific theories, which makes them more susceptible to the creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background tend to view evolution as a religious concept which could make them less comfortable with the idea.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution campaigns in schools have caused concern in the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is not true and that believing in it would be contrary to their convictions about religion. Despite the success of creationism in some states, a lot of scientists feel that the best method to combat this inclination is not to engage it, but to inform the public on the evidence for evolution.
Scientists have a responsibility to teach their students about science including the theory of evolution. They must also educate the public on the research process and how knowledge is confirmed. They must also explain that theories of science are often challenged and revised. However, misconceptions regarding the nature of research conducted by scientists often fuel anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, some people confuse the term "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a hunch or guess. In the field of science, however, the hypothesis is tested thoroughly and empirical data is used to confirm it. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observation becomes an established scientific principle.
The debate over evolutionary theory is an excellent occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is important to understand that science is not able to provide answers to questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather provides a mechanism for living things to grow and evolve.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education should cover all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people have and the decisions they make require knowledge of how science works.
The majority of scientists around world agree that humans have changed over time. In a recent study, which predicted adults' views of the consensus on this subject those with higher levels of education and science knowledge were found to be more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists about the evolution of humans. The people who have more religious beliefs but less knowledge of science tend to be more divided. It is important that educators emphasize the importance of understanding this consensus so that people can make informed decisions about the use of energy, health care and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution studies the numerous ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and interact with each other. Researchers in this field employ explanation tools and models adapted from evolutionary theorists and reach back to human prehistory to discover the earliest sources of culture.
This method also acknowledges the distinction between biological and cultural traits. While biological traits are generally inherited all at once (in sexual species, after fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of a cultural characteristic can affect the growth and development of another.
In Korea For instance the emergence of Western fashion elements in the late 19th century and the early 20th century was a result of a variety 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 had once again unified but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent Korea's economy has been growing consistently over the last decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the coming years.
The current government is faced with a variety of challenges. One of the biggest is its inability to find a consistent policy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, including its excessive dependence on foreign investment and exports, which may not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government has to rethink its strategy and find ways to increase domestic demand. It also needs to reform the incentive, monitoring, and disciplining systems that are currently in place to ensure the stability of the financial system. 에볼루션 코리아 provides a number of scenarios for how the Korean economy might develop in a post-crisis world.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for educators of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. Teachers need to, for instance, be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students from both religious and secular perspectives feel comfortable. Teachers should be able to recognize common misconceptions about evolution and be able to address them in the classroom. Additionally, teachers should be able to access a range of resources that are available to teach evolution and be able to find them quickly.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of disciplines to discuss most effective methods of teaching about evolution. Attendees included representatives of scientific societies and educational researchers, as well as officials from government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse parties helped to identify a shared set of recommendations that will form the basis for future action.
One important recommendation is that the teaching of evolution should be integrated in every science curriculum at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences with a progression that is developmentally appropriate, are one method to achieve this goal. Furthermore, a new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how to integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Several studies have found that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution is linked to higher levels of student understanding and belief in evolution. However it is difficult to determine causal effects in the classroom is challenging because school curriculums are not randomly assigned and change over time because of the predetermined dates of gubernatorial election and appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this limitation I employ a longitudinal data set that gives me to control for the effects of years and states fixed as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Another important result is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having fewer personal barriers to teaching it. This is in line with the hypothesis that more experienced faculty are less likely to be hesitant about teaching about evolution in the classroom, and could be more inclined to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method known to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.