9 . What Your Parents Teach You About Evolution Korea
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Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that struck Asia required a major review of the old model of government-business alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea, that meant a shift in the development paradigm.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses and the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. 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 wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialistic thinking creates a negative 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, complained in an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues from across the country who formed a group named Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some scientists are worried that the STR could expand to other parts of the globe, where creationism has been on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution campaign increasing pressure on textbook revisions, especially in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's culture is especially strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of the nation's citizens belong to an organized religion, and most adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - a philosophy based upon Confucian principles, which emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo believes that humans are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that the heavenly blessings can be obtained through good works.
All of this has created a fertile field. Numerous studies have found that students who have religious backgrounds to be more reluctant to learn about evolution as compared to those who do not. However, the underlying causes of this phenomenon are unclear. Students who have a religious background might be less familiar with scientific theories, making them more susceptible to creationists and their influence. Another factor could be that students who have religious backgrounds might view evolution as an idea that is atheistic, making them less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution programs in schools have caused concern within the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed 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 convictions about religion. Many scientists believe that, despite the success of creationism the best method to counter this belief is to educate the public about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists have a responsibility to educate their students about science and the theory of evolution. They should also educate the public on the research process and the way in which knowledge is validated. They should explain how theories of science are frequently challenged and modified. However, misconceptions regarding the nature of scientific research often create anti-evolution beliefs.
For example, some people may confuse the word "theory" with the common meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. In science, however the theory is rigorously tested and verified through empirical data. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observation becomes a scientific concept.
The debate about the theory of evolution is a wonderful occasion to discuss both the importance of the scientific method and its limits. It is essential for people to understand that science cannot answer questions about the purpose or meaning of life but it is merely a means through which living organisms can evolve and change.
A well-rounded education should cover the vast majority of scientific fields that include evolutionary biology. This is important because many jobs and decisions require people understand how science works.
The majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have changed through time. In a recent study that predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus on this topic people with higher levels of education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely to believe that there is wide agreement among scientists regarding human evolution. The people who have more religious beliefs but less knowledge of science tend to disagree more. It is crucial that educators insist on the importance of understanding this consensus, to enable people to make informed choices about energy use, health care and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close relative of mainstream evolutionary theory. It explores how humans and other organisms learn from one another. Researchers in this field use explanatory tools and investigative models derived from evolutionary theorists and go back to human prehistory to find the earliest sources of culture.
This approach also acknowledges that there are some differences between the characteristics of culture and biological. While biological traits are generally inherited all at once (in sexual species, at fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of one cultural characteristic may affect the growth and 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 important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more 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 been growing steadily over the past decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the coming years.
The current government is faced with 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 exposed the weaknesses of the country's policies particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment which could not last.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. As a result, the government has to rethink its strategy and find other ways to boost the domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government needs to overhaul its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop in the post-crisis period.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. For instance, teachers need to be aware of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a setting that students who have religious and secular views are comfortable with learning about evolution. Moreover, teachers need to recognize common misconceptions about evolution, and how to address them in their classrooms. Teachers must also have access to a variety of resources to teach evolution and be able locate them quickly.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played an important role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss best methods of teaching Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational research, officials from government funding agencies and curriculum designers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders resulted in a consensus set of recommendations that will be the basis for future actions.
One important recommendation is that the teaching of evolution should be incorporated in all science curricula at any 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 way to accomplish this goal. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more comprehensive explanation of evolution can lead to better understanding by students 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 in a random manner and are affected more info by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this limitation I utilize a longitudinal data set that lets me control for state and year fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about evolution.
Another significant finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having less personal barriers to teaching it. This is in line with the idea that a more experienced faculty is less likely to avoid discussing evolution topics in the classroom and may be more likely to use strategies such as an approach to reconciliation that is known to improve the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).