The economic crisis that swept across Asia caused a major review of the old system of government and business alliances, and public management of risks. In Korea, this meant a shift in the model of development.
In a controversial move, South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to eliminate examples of evolution from high school science books. These include the evidence of the evolution of horses as well as the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
- Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent offshoot from the Korea Association for Creation Research that wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims such materialism portrays negative images to students, leading them to abandon their faith.
Scientists around the globe expressed worry when the STR campaign gained attention. In a letter to the editor of Nature the evolutionary biologist Jae Choe at Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues from across the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks.
Researchers are worried that the STR campaign will be spread to other parts of the globe where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution campaign increasing pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans belong to of a religion, with the majority practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo, an ideology based on Confucian principles, which is a strong advocate of social harmony, individual self-cultivation, and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo believes that humans are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heaven-bound blessings can be derived through good works.
All of this has created a fertile ground. A number of studies have demonstrated that students who have a religious background tend to feel more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those without religion. However, the underlying causes of this phenomenon are not known. One explanation is that students who have religious backgrounds tend to be as knowledgeable about scientific theories and concepts which makes them more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students who have religious beliefs are more likely to view evolution as an atheistic concept and therefore less at ease with it.
- Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution campaigns in schools have raised concern within the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed nearly 40 percent of Americans believed that biological evolution was a myth and that it would be in conflict with their religious beliefs. Many scientists believe that, despite the popularity of creationism the best way to stop this movement is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are responsible for teaching their students science, which includes the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the scientific process and how knowledge is gathered and confirmed. They should explain how scientific theories are often challenged and modified. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of research can fuel anti-evolution views.
For instance, many people confuse the term "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a hunch or guess. However, in science theories are rigorously tested and verified with evidence. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly becomes a scientific principle.
The debate on evolution theory is an excellent opportunity to discuss both the importance of scientific methodology and its limits. It is important to be aware that science cannot provide answers to questions about life's purpose or meaning, but rather provides a mechanism for living things to develop and evolve.
A well-rounded education should also include exposure to the major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is important because many jobs and choices require people understand how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around world agree that humans have changed over time. In a recent study, which predicted the views of adults on the consensus on this topic people with higher levels of education and science knowledge were found to be more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. People with a higher level of religious belief but less knowledge of science tend to disagree more. It is essential that educators insist on understanding the general consensus on this issue, so that people are able to making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy use and other policy issues.
- Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close relative of the mainstream evolutionary theory. It focuses on how organisms like humans learn from one another. Researchers in this area use explanatory tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists. They also go back to prehistoric times to discover the origins of culture.
This approach also recognizes the differences between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are typically acquired in one go (in sexual species, during fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. In the end, the acquisition of one characteristic can affect the development of another.
In Korea, the adoption of Western styles in the latter part of the nineteenth and early 20th century was the result of an intricate sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and styles of clothing to Korean society.
Then, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began revert. By the end of World War II, Korea had once again unified, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent financial crisis Korea's economy has been growing steadily over the last decade. It is anticipated to continue to grow in the near future.
However, the current government is facing a variety of challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent plan to deal with the current economic crisis is one the biggest challenges. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's economic policies, including its excessive dependence on exports and foreign investment, which may not be sustainable in the long run.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government has to reconsider its economic strategy and find alternatives to boost domestic demand. It also needs to revamp the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems in place to guarantee the stability of the financial system. This chapter offers a number of scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in the post-crisis period.
- Evolution and Education
A fundamental challenge for evolution educators is how to teach evolutionary concepts in a manner that is appropriate for students of various levels of development and ages. Teachers must, for example be mindful of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students of both religious and secular beliefs are comfortable. Moreover, teachers need to be aware of the most common misconceptions about evolution and how to confront these in their classrooms. Teachers must also have access to a range of resources available to teach evolution and be able to locate them quickly.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step towards bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of disciplines to discuss most effective methods of teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational research, officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum designers. The convergence of diverse stakeholders led to the development of a set of shared recommendations which will serve as the foundation for future actions.
One of the most important recommendations is that the subject of evolution should be included in every science curriculum at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC), which call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences, with the developmentally appropriate, are one method to achieve this goal. A new publication from the NRC provides guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more thorough presentation of evolution is linked to a greater understanding of students and belief in the existence of evolution. It is difficult to estimate the causal effects of evolution in the classroom since school curricula do not change randomly and are dependent on the timing of state boards of education and the gubernatorial election. To overcome this problem, i use a longitudinal data set that gives me control for state and years fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about evolutionary theory.
Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having fewer intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the idea that more experienced faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom, and could be more inclined to use strategies like a reconciliatory method known to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.