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A Good Rant About Evolution Korea Evolution Korea The economic crisis that hit Asia required a major review of the old system of business-government alliances and the management by the public of private risks. In Korea this meant a change in the development paradigm. In a controversial move South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests to eliminate examples of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. This includes evidence for evolution of horses and of the Avian ancestor Archaeopteryx. 1. Evolution and Religion A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. 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 move. The STR asserts that such materialism creates an image of negativity for students, leading them to be skeptical. Scientists across the globe expressed concerns when the STR campaign was featured in the news. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul and wrote a letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues from across the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks. Some researchers are also worried about the possibility that the STR campaign will spread to other parts of the world, where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement could intensify pressure for revisions to textbooks in other countries, notably those with large Christian and Muslim populations. South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans belong to of a religion with the majority of them practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is that is based on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heaven-bound blessings are possible through the good deeds of a person. All of this has created fertile ground for the spread of creationism. Several studies have shown that students with religion-based backgrounds tend to be more uncomfortable when learning about evolution than those who do not have a religious background. The underlying causes are not obvious. Students who have a religious background may be less knowledgeable about scientific theories, making them more susceptible to creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that students who have a religious background may view evolution as a belief system that is atheistic, making them feel less comfortable. 2. Evolution and Science In recent years, scientists have been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that nearly 40 percent of Americans believed that biological evolution was a myth and that it would conflict their religious beliefs. Despite the popularity of creationism in some states, many scientists believe that the best strategy to combat this inclination is not to be actively involved in it, but rather to educate people about the evidence that supports evolution. Scientists are accountable to teach their students science including the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the process of scientific research and the way in which knowledge is validated. They should explain how scientific theories are often challenged and changed. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of research can fuel anti-evolution views. Some people confuse the word "theory" as a guess or guess. In the realm of science the theory is rigorously tested and verified through evidence. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed becomes a scientific principal. The debate on evolution theory is a great chance to discuss the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is crucial to realize that science is unable to answer questions about 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 all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because a lot of jobs and choices require people understand how science operates. The vast majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have evolved through time. In a recent study, which predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus on this topic, those with higher levels education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely believe there is a wide agreement among scientists regarding human evolution. People with a higher level of religious belief but less knowledge of science tend to disagree more. It is essential that educators emphasize the importance of understanding the general consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid foundation for making informed choices about their health care, energy usage and other issues of policy. 3. Evolution and Culture Cultural evolution is a close relative of mainstream evolutionary theory. It examines how organisms like humans learn from each other. Researchers in this field employ elaborate models and tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists, and they look back to human prehistory to discover the origins of our capacity for culture. This approach also acknowledges the differences between the characteristics of culture and biological. Cultural traits can be acquired gradually while biological traits are typically acquired at the same time (in sexual species, at fertilization). The acquisition of one cultural characteristic may affect the growth and development of a different. In Korea the introduction of Western style elements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result an elaborate sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing styles and hairstyles to Korean society. When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to change. By the end of World War II, Korea was once more united, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty. Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the financial crisis of recent the economy of Korea has been growing steadily over the past decade. It is expected to continue this growth in the near future. The current administration is faced by a myriad of problems. One of the most serious is its inability to find a coherent policy to address the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses in the country's policies particularly its dependence on foreign investment and exports which could not last. As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government must reconsider its economic strategy and find alternatives to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable economic climate the government will need to reform its incentive, monitoring and discipline systems. This chapter offers a number of scenarios of how the Korean economy could develop in the post-crisis period. 4. Evolution and Education The challenge for educators of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. Teachers need to, for instance, be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students of both secular and religious beliefs feel comfortable. Teachers should also be able recognize common misconceptions about evolution and know how to address them in the classroom. 에볼루션 게이밍 must also have quick access to the numerous resources to teach evolution. In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step in bringing together evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of fields to discuss most effective methods of teaching evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational researchers, government funding agency officials and curriculum designers. The convergence of different stakeholders helped identify some common guidelines that will form the basis for future actions. A key recommendation is that the teaching of evolution should be incorporated in every science curriculum at every level. To achieve this goal it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in an integrated manner across all sciences with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. Additionally, 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 teaching of evolution can lead to higher levels of student understanding and belief in evolution. It is difficult to estimate the causality of teaching in the classroom because school curricula don't change on a regular basis and are affected by the timing of state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this limitation I employ a longitudinal data set that allows me to control for fixed state and year effects as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers about changes in the curriculum. Another important finding is that teachers who are more comfortable with teaching evolution report having less intrapersonal barriers to doing so. This is consistent with the notion that a more confident faculty is less likely to avoid tackling evolution topics in the classroom and may be more likely to employ strategies like the reconciliatory approach that has been proven to increase undergraduate student acceptance of evolution (Harms and Reiss 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).
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