Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept across Asia caused a major review of the old system of government and business alliances, as well as public management of risks. In Korea this required a change in the development model.
In Evolution KR has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has persuaded textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from high-school science texts. The decision was the result of a campaign run by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) which is an branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to clear textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialism paints an unhopeful picture for students and leads to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists around the world reacted with alarm. In a letter addressed 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 across the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Some researchers are worried about the possibility that the STR campaign will be spread to other regions of the world where the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolutionist movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, especially those with strong Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's cultural background is particularly strong in the debate over evolution. 26 percent of the nation's residents belong to an organized religion and the majority practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo, an ideology based on Confucian principles, which emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation, and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo is a way of teaching that the human being is one with Hanulnim the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings are achievable by doing good deeds.
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 than those who don't. However, the root causes of this phenomenon are not known. Students with a religious background may not be as knowledgeable about scientific theories, which makes them more susceptible to creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students who have religious backgrounds tend to view evolution as an atheistic concept and therefore less at ease with the idea.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, scientists have been concerned about the anti-evolution agenda in schools. A survey in 2009 revealed that 40 percent of Americans believed that biological evolution was not true and that it could conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite the success of creationism in some states, a lot of scientists believe that the best way to combat this inclination is not to be actively involved in it, but rather to educate people about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are required to instruct their students in science, including the theory of evolution. They should also educate the public on the process of scientific research and how knowledge is confirmed. They should also explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and changed. However, misconceptions about the nature of scientific research frequently create anti-evolution beliefs.
Some people interpret the term "theory" as a hunch or guess. However, in science, a theory is thoroughly tested and verified using empirical evidence. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific principle.
The debate over the evolutionary theory provides a great occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to be aware that science is not able to provide answers to questions about life's purpose or meaning, but instead allows living things to grow and adapt.
A well-rounded education should also include exposure to the major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and decisions require individuals understand how science operates.
The vast majority scientists in the world believe that humans have evolved over time. A recent study predicting adults' views of the consensus on this issue found that those with higher education levels and science knowledge were more likely to believe that there is a general consensus between scientists regarding human evolution. Those who have more religious beliefs and less science knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is crucial that teachers insist on understanding the general consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid foundation for making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy usage, and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close relative of the popular evolutionary theory. It examines how organisms like humans learn from each other. Researchers in this field employ elaborate tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists. They also go back to prehistoric times to discover the origins of culture.
This approach also acknowledges the distinction between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are largely acquired in one go (in sexual species, after fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. In the end, the acquisition of one trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea For instance the introduction of Western fashion elements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the result of a complicated sequence 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. By the end World War II, Korea was once more united and again under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the country's economy has been growing steadily over the last decade and is expected to sustain its steady growth in the near future.
The current government has many challenges to face. One of the most significant is its inability to develop a consistent policy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the shortcomings in the policies of the country particularly its dependence on foreign investment and exports which could not last.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government needs to review its economic strategy and look for alternatives to boost domestic demand. It must also overhaul the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems that are in place to guarantee a stable financial environment. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy could develop after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest challenge for educators of evolution is how to teach evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students of various levels of development and ages. Teachers should, for instance be aware of the diversity of religions within their classrooms and create an environment where students of both religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable. Teachers must also understand common misconceptions about evolution and how to deal with them in their classrooms. Finally, teachers must be able to access a range of resources to teach evolution and be able to locate them quickly.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss the most effective methods of teaching evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, government funding agency officials and curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse parties resulted in a consensus set of recommendations that will be the foundation for future actions.
It is important to include evolution in all science curricula, at every level. To achieve this, the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a unified manner across all life sciences with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC provides guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more comprehensive presentation of evolution leads to a greater understanding of students and belief in the existence of evolution. However, estimating causal effects in the classroom is a challenge due to the fact that school curriculums are not randomly assigned and change over time as a result of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and state board of education appointments. To overcome this problem I employ a longitudinal dataset that allows me to control the fixed effects of state and years as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Another important finding is that teachers who are 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 may be more likely to employ strategies like a reconciliatory approach known to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).