Expert Advice On Evolution Korea From The Age Of Five
Wiki Article
Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that struck Asia caused a significant rethinking of the old model of government-business alliances and the management by the public of private risks. In Korea, that meant a shift 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 from high school science textbooks. This includes evidence for evolution of horses and the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has convinced textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The move was a result of a campaign run by the Society for 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 materialistic views create a negative image for students and can lead to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists from all over the world expressed concern when the STR campaign was featured in the news. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and wrote an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed up by colleagues from across the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Researchers are also worried that the STR campaign could spread to other parts of the world where the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolutionist campaign putting pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's culture is particularly strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of the nation's residents belong to an organized religion, and most practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also follow Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy based upon Confucian principles, which is a strong advocate of social harmony, individual self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo teaches the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun, and that divine blessings can be achieved through the good works of one's.
All of this has created a fertile ground. Numerous studies have revealed that students who have religious backgrounds are more hesitant about learning evolution than those without religion. The underlying causes are not obvious. Students with a religious background may not be as experienced with scientific theories, making them more vulnerable to creationists' influence. Another possibility is that students who have a religious background are more likely to view evolution as a religious concept which could make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution campaigns in schools have raised concerns in the scientific community. A study conducted in 2009 found that more than 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is not true and that believing in it could be in conflict with their convictions about religion. Many scientists believe that despite the fact that creationism has been successful the best way to combat this movement is to educate the public on the evidence for evolution.
Scientists have a duty to educate their students about science and the theory of evolution. They should also inform the general public about the scientific process and how knowledge is collected and validated. They must explain how theories of science are frequently challenged and modified. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, many people confuse the term "theory" with the normal meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. In science, however the theory is thoroughly tested and verified using empirical evidence. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observations becomes an established scientific principle.
The debate about the evolutionary theory provides a great opportunity to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is essential for people to recognize that science is unable to answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life but only provides a mechanism by which living things can develop 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 people understand the way science operates.
The vast majority of scientists around world believe that humans have changed over time. In a recent study, which predicted adults' views of the consensus on this topic, those with higher levels education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely to believe there is a wide agreement among scientists regarding human evolution. Those who have more religious faith and less knowledge of science are more likely to disagree. It is essential that educators emphasize the importance of knowing the general consensus on this issue, so that people are able to making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution explores the many ways that humans and other species learn from and interact with each other. Researchers in this field use explanation models and tools that are adapted from the ones used by evolutionary theorists. they look back to human prehistory to find out the origins of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also acknowledges the difference between traits that are cultural and biological. While biological traits are generally acquired in one go (in sexual species, after fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. This means that the acquisition of one trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea, for example, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the late 19th century and the early 20th century was the result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
After that, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, a portion of these trends began 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 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 continue its healthy growth in the future.
The current government is faced by a myriad of problems. The government's inability to formulate a coherent plan to address the current economic crisis is one the most significant challenges. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses in the country's policies and its reliance on foreign investment and exports that may not last.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government needs to reconsider its economic strategy and find alternatives to boost domestic demand. It must also reform the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems that are in place to guarantee a stable financial environment. This chapter presents several scenarios of how the Korean economy might grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest challenge for evolution educators is how to present evolutionary concepts in a manner that is appropriate for students at various age groups and developmental stages. Teachers must, for example be mindful of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students from both religious and secular perspectives are comfortable. Additionally, teachers must recognize the most common misconceptions about evolution and how to address 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, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from different sectors to discuss best methods for teaching Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, government funding agency officials and curriculum designers. The convergence of diverse stakeholders led to the development of some common guidelines that will serve as the foundation for future actions.
It is important to include read more evolution in all science curricula, at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences, with an educational progression that is developmental appropriate, are a good way to achieve this goal. A new publication from NRC provides guidance to schools about how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
A number of studies have demonstrated that a more thorough teaching of evolution can lead to higher levels of student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. It is difficult to determine the causality of teaching in the classroom, since school curricula don't change randomly and are influenced by the timing of state board of education and the gubernatorial election. To overcome this limitation I utilize a longitudinal data set which allows me to control for state and year fixed effects and individual-level variation in teacher beliefs about evolution.
Teachers who are more comfortable in teaching evolution report fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the idea that faculty who are more confident are less likely to avoid teaching about evolution in the classroom, and could be more inclined to employ strategies like a reconciliatory method that is known to boost the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.