Evolution Korea
The economic crisis which swept Asia caused a major review of the old system of government and business alliances, as well the public management of risk. 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 to remove examples of evolution in high school science textbooks. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses and the bird an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. The decision was the result of a campaign run by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates a negative image for students, making them lose faith.
When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists from all over the world reacted with concern. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and wrote a letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from around the country who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some scientists are worried that the STR could be spread to other regions of the globe, where the belief in creationism has been on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution movement putting more pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are part of a religion, with the majority practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is that is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings are achievable through the good works of one's.
All of this has made creationism fertile field. Numerous studies have found that students who have religious backgrounds to be more uncomfortable learning about evolution as compared to those who do not. However, the root causes of this phenomenon are not clear. One possible explanation is that students with religious backgrounds tend to be as knowledgeable about scientific theories and concepts which makes them more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another factor could be that students with religious backgrounds may see evolution as a concept that is atheistic, making them feel less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is wrong and that believing in it would be contrary to their faith-based beliefs. Many scientists believe that despite the fact that creationism has been successful the best way to counter this belief is to educate the public on the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are required to teach their students about science, including the theory of evolution. They also need to inform people about the scientific process and how knowledge is collected and confirmed. They must explain how theories of science are frequently challenged and revised. 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 normal meaning of the word - a guess or guess. In science, however, a theory is rigorously tested and verified with empirical evidence. A theory that survives repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific principle.
The debate on the theory of evolution is a wonderful opportunity to discuss both the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is essential to be aware that science does not answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but rather allows living things to evolve and evolve.
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 that people know how science operates.
The majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have changed over time. A recent study predicting adults' view of the consensus on this issue found that those who had higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe there is a general consensus among scientists on the subject of human evolution. The people who have more religious beliefs but less scientific knowledge tend to be more divided. It is essential that teachers stress the importance of understanding this consensus so that people can make informed decisions about the use of energy, health care, and other policy matters.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a cousin of the mainstream evolutionary theory. It examines the ways that humans and other species learn from each other. Researchers in this field use explanation models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists, and they look back to human prehistory to determine the genesis of our capacity for culture.
This approach also recognizes that there are differences between the characteristics of culture and biological. Cultural traits can be acquired gradually, whereas biological traits are typically acquired simultaneously (in sexual species at fertilization). As a result, the emergence of one cultural trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea for instance the emergence of Western fashion elements in the late 19th and 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 clothing styles to Korean society.
After that, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, a few of those trends began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea had once again unified and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic 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 near future.
The current government is facing a variety of challenges. One of the biggest is the inability to come up with an effective strategy to address the economic crisis. The crisis has revealed weaknesses in the country's policies and its reliance on exports and foreign investment, which may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government has to reconsider its strategy and come up with other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate, the government will have to reform its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for educators of evolution is how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. Teachers should, for instance, be sensitive to the religious diversity in their classrooms and create an environment where students with both religious and secular perspectives are comfortable. Additionally, teachers must be aware of common misconceptions about evolution, and how to deal with these in their classrooms. Finally, teachers must be able to access a range of resources that are available for teaching evolution and be able to find them quickly.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step in bringing together evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of sectors to discuss the best practices for teaching evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials from government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will serve as the basis for future action.
It is essential to incorporate evolution in all science curricula, 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 a method to achieve this goal. A new publication from NRC offers guidance to schools about how to incorporate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have proven that a more complete explanation of evolution can lead to better understanding by students and belief in evolution. It is difficult to determine causal effects in the classroom since school curricula do not change on a regular basis and are dependent on the timing of the state board of education and gubernatorial election. To overcome this problem, I use a longitudinal data set which allows me to control for state and year fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about changes in the curriculum.
Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable teaching about evolution report having fewer personal barriers to teaching it. This is consistent with the idea that a faculty with more confidence is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom. Additionally, they may be more likely to use strategies such as the reconciliatory approach that has been proven to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al., 2020).