24 Hours For Improving Evolution Korea
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Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia led to a major rethinking of the traditional system of government, business alliances, as well as public management of risks. In Korea, that required a change in the development model.
In a controversial move, the South Korean government has requested publishers of textbooks to ignore calls for removing examples of evolution in science texts for high school students. This includes evidence of the evolution of horses and of the Avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. The Society for Textbook Revise, an offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the move. The STR claims that such materialism creates negative images to students, making them lose faith.
Scientists around the globe expressed concern when the STR campaign made headlines. In a letter addressed to the editor of Nature evolutionary biologist Jae Choe of Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues across the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks.
Researchers are concerned 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-evolution campaign increasing pressure on textbook revisions, especially in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
The South Korean culture is especially strong in the evolution debate. 26 percent of the country's citizens belong to an organized religion and the majority of them adhere to Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also follow Ch'ondogyo, the philosophy based on Confucian principles that 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 the heavenly blessings can be achieved through good works.
All of this has created a fertile field. Multiple studies have shown students with a religious background to be more uncomfortable learning about evolution as compared to those who do not. However, the root reasons for this phenomenon are unclear. Students who have a religious background may not be as experienced with scientific theories, which makes them more vulnerable to creationists' influence. Another reason could be that students with religious backgrounds may see evolution as a belief system that is not a religion, which makes them feel uncomfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, the scientific community has been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A 2009 survey revealed that more than 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that a belief in it would be contrary to their convictions about religion. Despite the success of creationism in some states, many scientists believe that the best strategy to counter this movement is not to be actively involved in it, but to inform 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 process of science and how knowledge from science is gathered and confirmed. They must explain how scientific theories are often challenged and changed. However, misinformation about the nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to anti-evolution beliefs.
Some people interpret the term "theory" as a guess or guess. In the realm of science the theory is rigorously tested and verified through empirical data. A theory that has survived repeated testing and observation is a scientific concept.
The debate about evolution theory is an excellent occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limitations. It is important for people to understand that science is not able to answer questions about the meaning or meaning of life, but only provides a mechanism that allows living things to evolve and change.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education must include exposure to all the major scientific fields, including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people hold and the choices they make require understanding of how science functions.
The majority of scientists around world agree that humans have changed over time. In a recent study that predicted the views of adults on the consensus on this topic, those with higher levels education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists regarding human evolution. The people with more religious beliefs and less knowledge of science are more likely to disapprove. It is essential that teachers stress the importance of understanding this consensus to enable people to make informed choices about health care, energy usage and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close cousin to the popular 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 utilize explanation models and tools adapted from those used by evolutionary theorists, and they look back to human prehistory to discover the origins of our capacity for cultural understanding.
This approach also acknowledges the distinction between traits that are cultural and biological. While biological traits are largely acquired in one go (in sexual species, at fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. 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 latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century was the result of a variety of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western clothing and hairstyles.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these changes began to reverse. By the end of World War II, Korea was once more united, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown steadily in the last decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the near future.
The current administration is faced by a myriad of problems. The government's inability to formulate a coherent strategy to tackle the current economic crisis is one of the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed weaknesses in the country's policies particularly its dependence on exports and foreign investment that may not last.
The financial crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government must reconsider its approach and find other ways to increase domestic demand. It will also have to overhaul the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems that are currently in place to ensure a stable financial environment. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy might develop in the post-crisis era.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for teachers of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different stages of development and ages. Teachers must, for example, be sensitive to the diversity of religions within their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students with both religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable. Moreover, teachers need to understand common misconceptions about evolution, and how to address these in their classrooms. Additionally, teachers should be able to access a range of resources that are available to teach evolution and be able locate them quickly.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation had a key role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best methods of teaching about Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum designers. The convergence of various stakeholders helped identify some common guidelines that will form the basis for future actions.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) that call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences with a progression that is developmentally appropriate, are a good way to achieve this goal. Furthermore, a new publication from the NRC offers guidelines to schools on how they can integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more complete explanation of evolution can lead to greater student understanding and belief in evolution. However it is difficult to determine causal effects in the classroom is a challenge due to the fact that school curriculums are not assigned randomly and change over time as a result check here of the predetermined timeframe of gubernatorial elections as well as state board of education appointments. To overcome this issue I use a longitudinal dataset that allows me to control for state and years fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Another important result is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching about evolution report having fewer personal barriers to teaching it. This is in line with the hypothesis that more confident faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom. They may also be more likely to employ strategies such as a reconciliatory approach that is known to boost the students' understanding of evolution.