The economic crisis that swept across Asia prompted a major reappraisal the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risks. In Korea this meant a change in the model of development.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has asked textbooks publishers to ignore calls to remove examples of evolution from high school science textbooks. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses and the avian 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 decision was the result of a campaign run by the Society for www.evolutionkr.kr Textbook Revise (STR), an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to get rid of biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates an image of negativity for students, causing them to lose faith.
When the STR's campaign made the news, scientists from all over the globe expressed alarm. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature the evolutionary biologist Jae Choe from Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues from around the country who gathered into an organization called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some scientists are worried that the STR will be spread to other regions of the globe, where the belief in creationism has been increasing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, particularly in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea's cultural background is particularly strong in the debate over evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are members of a religious group with the majority of them practicing Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is based on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo believes that humans are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings can be obtained by doing good deeds.
All of this has provided fertile ground 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 without religion. However, the underlying reasons for this phenomenon are unclear. Students with a religious background may be less familiar with scientific theories, making them more vulnerable to creationists and their influence. Another factor could be that students with religious backgrounds might view evolution as an idea that is not a religion, which makes them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution programs in schools have raised concerns in the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is wrong, and that a belief in it would be contrary to their religious beliefs. Despite the success of creationism in some states, many scientists feel that the best strategy to stop this trend is not to engage it, but rather to inform the public about the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists are responsible for teaching their students science including the theory of evolution. They also need to inform people about the science process and how knowledge from science is collected and validated. They must explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and revised. However, misperceptions regarding the nature of research conducted by scientists often cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
Many people mistake the term "theory" as a hunch, or a guess. In science, however a hypothesis is rigorously tested and empirical evidence is used to confirm it. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observation is a scientific principle.
The debate over the evolutionary theory provides a great opportunity to discuss the significance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is essential that people understand that science does not answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but rather provides a mechanism for living things to evolve and evolve.
Moreover, a well-rounded education must include exposure to all the major scientific fields, including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and choices require people understand how science operates.
The vast majority scientists in the world agree that humans have evolved over time. In a recent study that predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus around this issue those with higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. People with more religious faith and less science knowledge are more likely to disapprove. It is crucial that educators emphasize the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus to enable people to make informed choices about the use of energy, health care, and other policy matters.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution focuses on the various ways humans--and other organisms--learn from and with one another. Researchers in this field employ explanatory models and investigative tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists, and they reach back into human prehistory to determine the genesis of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This approach also recognizes the distinction between traits that are cultural and biological. Cultural traits can be acquired gradually, whereas biological traits are typically acquired at the same time (in the case of sexual species after fertilization). In the end, the acquisition of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea For instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century was the result of a complex series of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing styles and hairstyles to Korean society.
When Japan departed Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to change. By the end of World War II, Korea was once more united and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown steadily in the last decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the coming years.
However, the current administration faces numerous challenges. One of the biggest is its inability to find an effective strategy to deal with the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed weaknesses of the country's economy policies, including its excessive dependence on foreign investment and exports which might not be sustainable in the long run.
Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government has to rethink its economic strategy and come up with alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate, the government will have to overhaul its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could develop in the post-crisis period.4. Evolution and Education
One of the biggest challenges for educators of evolution is how to teach evolutionary concepts in ways that are appropriate for students of various ages and developmental stages. Teachers, for instance, must be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a setting that students who have religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable learning evolution. Teachers should also be able to identify common misconceptions about evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have easy access to the many resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this context, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step in bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of disciplines to discuss best practices for teaching evolution. Attendees included representatives of scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders resulted in a consensus set of recommendations that will be the basis for future actions.
A key recommendation is that the study of evolution should be included in every science curriculum at every level. To accomplish this, the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in a unified manner across all life sciences with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from NRC offers guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution in the life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more complete presentation of evolution leads to a greater understanding of students and belief in evolution. However, estimating the causal effect of evolution in the classroom is challenging due to the fact that school curriculums are not randomly assigned and evolve over time because of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this problem, i use a longitudinal data set that gives me to control for 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 fewer internal barriers. This is consistent with the idea that a more confident faculty is less likely to avoid tackling evolution subjects in the classroom. They also could be more likely to employ strategies like the reconciliatory approach that has been proven to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).
