Don't Buy Into These "Trends" Concerning Evolution Korea
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Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept Asia forced a major reappraisal of the old model of government-business alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea this meant a shift in the model of development.
In a controversial move, the South Korean government has asked publishers of textbooks to ignore calls for the removal of examples of evolution from science texts for high school students. This includes evidence for evolution of horses and the bird ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The move was a result of a campaign led by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to clear textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students and can lead to their eventual loss of faith.
When the STR's campaign made the news, scientists around the world 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. His colleagues backed him from across the country who gathered into an organization called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some scientists are also worried that the STR campaign will 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 intensify pressure for revisions to textbooks in other countries, notably those with strong Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's cultural background is especially strong in the evolution debate. Twenty-six percent of the country's residents belong to a religious denomination, and most practice Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is based on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heaven-bound blessings can be derived by doing good deeds.
All of this has made creationism a fertile ground. Numerous studies have revealed that students who have religious backgrounds to be more hesitant to learn about evolution than those who don't. The underlying causes of this phenomenon remain not known. Students who are religious may be less knowledgeable about the theories of science, making them more susceptible to creationists' influence. Another reason could be that those with religious backgrounds may see evolution as a concept that is not a religion, which makes them feel less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concerns in the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was wrong and that it would be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the popularity of creationism, the best way to combat this movement is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are accountable to instruct their students in science, which includes the theory of evolution. They must also inform the public about the scientific process and how knowledge is collected and validated. They must also explain that theories of science are often challenged and reformulated. However, misconceptions about the nature of scientific research often create anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, some people may confuse the word "theory" with the normal meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. However, in science the theory is thoroughly tested and verified using evidence. A theory that survives repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific principle.
The debate over the theory of evolution is a wonderful chance to discuss the importance of scientific methodology and its limitations. It is essential that people understand that science cannot answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but instead offers a way for living things to evolve and evolve.
Moreover, a well-rounded education should cover all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is particularly important because the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require understanding of how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved over time. In a study that predicted adults' views of the consensus on this subject, those with higher levels education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely believe that there is wide agreement among scientists about human evolution. Those with more religious faith but less science knowledge tend to disagree more. It is essential that teachers stress the importance of understanding this consensus, to enable people to make informed decisions regarding energy use, health care and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to mainstream evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution studies the numerous ways that organisms, including humans, learn from and with each other. Researchers in this field use explanatory models and investigative tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists. they look back to human prehistory to discover the origins of our capacity for culture.
This method also acknowledges the difference between traits that are cultural and biological. While biological traits are generally acquired in one go (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a lengthy period of time. This means that the acquisition of one cultural characteristic can affect the development of another.
In Korea the emergence of Western elements of style in the latter part of the nineteenth and early 20th century was the result of a complex sequence of events. One of the most important was the appearance in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing and hairstyles.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to change. 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 financial crisis of recent, Korea's economy has been growing steadily over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the near future.
The current administration is faced by a myriad of problems. The inability of the government to develop a coherent strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is one of the most significant challenges. The crisis has exposed weaknesses of the country's policies and its reliance on foreign investment and exports, which may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. This means that the government must reconsider its approach and find ways to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable financial climate, the government will have to reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios on how the Korean economy could grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
A fundamental challenge for educators of evolution is how to present evolutionary concepts in a manner that is appropriate for students of various levels of development and ages. Teachers need to, for instance be aware of the diversity of religions within their classrooms and create a learning environment where students from both religious and secular beliefs are at ease. Teachers must also understand the most common misconceptions about evolution and how to deal with these in their classrooms. Teachers must also have quick access to the various resources that can be used to teach evolution.
In this regard 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 about evolution. Participants included representatives 에볼루션 슬롯게임 from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse parties resulted in a consensus set of recommendations that will be the basis for future action.
One important recommendation is that the subject of evolution should be included in all science curricula at every level. To accomplish this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in a unified way across the life sciences using a sequence of concepts that are developmental appropriate. Furthermore, a new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how they can integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have shown that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution can lead to higher levels of student understanding and belief in the concept of evolution. However the estimation of the causal effect of evolution in the classroom is a challenge because school curriculums 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 limitation I employ an ongoing data set that lets me control for year and state fixed effects and individual-level variation in teacher beliefs regarding evolution.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution have fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the hypothesis that more experienced faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom, and may be more inclined to use strategies such as a reconciliatory approach known to increase undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution.