Evolution Korea
The economic crisis which swept Asia prompted a major reappraisal the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risks. In Korea this required a change in the development model.
In a controversial decision the South Korean government has asked textbook publishers to ignore requests for the removal of examples of evolution in science texts for high school students. These include the evidence for evolution of horses and the avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from high-school science texts. The Society for Textbook Revise, an offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research that wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims that such materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's campaign hit the news , scientists across the world reacted with concern. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature the evolutionary biologist Jae Choe of Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues around the country, who set up a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Researchers are also concerned that the STR campaign could spread to other parts of the world where the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, particularly those with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the evolution debate. 26 percent of the nation's citizens belong to a religious denomination and the majority adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - the philosophy based on Confucian principles that 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 can be achieved through good works.
All of this has provided fertile ground for the spread of creationism. A number of studies have demonstrated that students with religion-based backgrounds tend to be more uncomfortable when learning about evolution than those without religion. The underlying causes are not obvious. Students who have a religious background may not be as experienced with scientific theories, making them more susceptible to the creationists' influence. Another reason could be that students who have religious backgrounds may see evolution as an idea that is atheistic, making them less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have caused concern in the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed nearly 40 percent of Americans believed that biological evolution was not true and that it would conflict their religious beliefs. Despite the fact that creationism has been a huge success in some states, a lot of scientists believe that the best strategy to combat this inclination is not to engage with it, but rather educate the public on the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are responsible to teach their students science, which includes the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the process of science, and how scientific knowledge is collected and validated. They must explain how theories of science are frequently challenged and changed. However, misinformation about the nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, many people are able to confuse the term "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. In the realm of science, a theory is rigorously tested and verified through empirical data. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observation becomes an established scientific principle.
The debate about evolution theory is an excellent chance to discuss the importance of scientific method and its limitations. It is essential to realize that science cannot answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism through which living organisms can develop and adapt.
A well-rounded education should also include exposure to the major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because the jobs that people hold and the choices they make require understanding of how science works.
The vast majority of scientists across the world agree that humans have evolved over time. A recent study that predicted the 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 consensus among scientists about human evolution. The people with more religious faith and less science knowledge are more likely to disagree. It is essential that teachers stress the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus to enable people to make informed choices about health care, energy usage, and other policy matters.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution explores the many ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with each other. Researchers in this area use explanatory tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists. They also go back to human prehistory to find the origins of culture.
This approach also acknowledges the distinction between traits that are cultural and biological. Cultural traits can be acquired gradually while biological traits are typically acquired simultaneously (in sexual species at fertilization). The acquisition of one cultural characteristic can influence the growth and development of a different.
In Korea, the adoption of Western elements of style in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result an elaborate sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to reverse. By the end of World War II, Korea had once again unified, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown steadily in the past decade and is poised to maintain its steady growth in the future.
However, the current administration is facing a variety of challenges. One of the most significant is its inability to find a coherent policy to tackle the economic crisis. The crisis has revealed shortcomings in the policies of the country, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment which could not last.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government must rethink its economic strategy and come up with alternative ways to boost domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate the government will need to reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various ages and stages of development. For example, teachers must be aware of the religious diversity of their classrooms and create a space that students who have secular and religious views are comfortable with learning about evolution. Teachers should be able to recognize common misconceptions about evolution and be able to address them in the classroom. Teachers must also have quick access to the many resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of disciplines to discuss best methods for teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational research, government funding agency officials and curriculum designers. The convergence of these diverse groups resulted in a consensus set of recommendations that will form the foundation for future actions.
One important recommendation is that the subject of evolution should be incorporated in all science curricula at any level. National Science Education Standards (NRC), which call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences with the developmentally appropriate, are one way to achieve this goal. Furthermore, a new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have proven that a more comprehensive presentation of evolution is linked to better understanding by students and belief in the concept of evolution. However it is difficult to determine the causal effect of evolution in the classroom is challenging given that school curricula are not randomly assigned and evolve in time as a result of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this problem I employ a longitudinal dataset that allows me to control the effects of years and states fixed as well as individual-level differences in the beliefs of teachers regarding evolutionary theory.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution have less internal barriers. This is in line with the notion that more confident faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom, and could be more inclined to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method that is known to boost undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution.