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 shift in the model of development.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has asked publishers of textbooks to ignore calls for removing examples of evolution in science texts for high school students. These include the evidence of the evolution of horses and of the Avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research that wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the move. The STR claims that this kind of materialism paints an unhopeful picture for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's ad campaign made the news, scientists across the globe expressed alarm. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed up by colleagues from across the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks.
Some scientists are worried that the STR will expand to other parts of the world, where creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, especially those with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's cultural background 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 adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is founded on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun, and that divine blessings are achievable through good works.
All of this has made creationism a fertile field. Several studies have shown that students with a religious background tend to feel more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those who do not have a religious background. The underlying causes are not evident. Students who have a religious background may be less experienced with the theories of science, making them more vulnerable to creationists influence. Another possible factor is that students who have a religious background are more likely to see evolution as a religious concept, which may make them less at ease with the idea.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A study conducted in 2009 found that more than 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that a belief in it could be in conflict with their faith-based beliefs. Many scientists believe that despite the success of creationism the best way to counter this belief is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
에볼루션게이밍 are responsible to teach their students science, which includes the theory of evolution. They must also educate the public on the research process and how knowledge is confirmed. They should explain how theories of science are often challenged and revised. However, misinformation about the nature and purpose of scientific research can fuel anti-evolution views.
Many people mistake the term "theory" as a guess or guess. In the field of science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical data is used to prove it. A theory that survives repeated testing and observation becomes a scientific concept.
The debate on the theory of evolution is a wonderful opportunity to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial for people to understand that science cannot answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life it only serves as a mechanism by which living things can evolve and change.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education must include exposure to all the major scientific fields, including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and decisions require that people know how science works.
The majority of scientists across the world agree that humans have changed over time. A recent study predicting adults' views of the consensus on this subject found that those with higher education levels and knowledge of science were more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists about human evolution. People with a higher level of religious belief but less knowledge of science tend to be more divided. It is essential that teachers emphasize the importance of understanding this consensus so that people can make informed choices about the use of energy, health care, and other policy matters.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution studies the numerous ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and with each other. Researchers in this field use explanation models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists. they go back to human prehistory to discover the origins of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also acknowledges that there are differences between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are typically acquired in one go (in sexual species, after fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of a cultural characteristic may affect the growth and development of another.
In Korea the emergence of Western styles in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result an elaborate sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western clothing styles and hairstyles to Korean society.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to reverse. By the end World War II, Korea was once again united, this time under the Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown steadily in the last decade and is set to sustain its steady growth in the future.
The current government is facing a variety of challenges. The government's inability to formulate an effective strategy to tackle the current economic crisis is among the most significant challenges. The crisis has revealed weaknesses of the country's policies particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment that may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. As a result, the government has to reconsider its approach and find other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate the government will need to overhaul its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter offers a number of scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop in the post-crisis period.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students of various ages and developmental stages. Teachers must, for example be mindful of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students of both religious and secular perspectives are comfortable. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions regarding evolution and know how to address them in the classroom. Teachers must also have easy access to the many resources to teach evolution.
In this context, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step in bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of sectors to discuss the best methods for teaching evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of these diverse parties led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will serve as the basis for future actions.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula, at every level. To achieve this goal, the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a seamless manner across all life sciences using a sequence of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from the NRC provides guidelines for schools on how to integrate evolution in the life science curriculum.
Several studies have found that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution can lead to higher levels of student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. However the estimation of the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is difficult given that school curricula are not assigned randomly and change over time because of the predetermined timeframe of gubernatorial elections as well as state board of education appointments. To overcome this limitation I employ a longitudinal data set which lets me control for fixed state and year effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolution.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution report fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the idea that faculty who are more confident are less likely to avoid questions about evolution in the classroom. They may also be more inclined to use strategies like a reconciliatory method which is used to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.