Biological Conceptualization of Race: The Unintended Consequence of Korean College Students' Learning of Biology

Abstract

The conception of racial categories from a biological perspective is unconsciously embedded in the individual’s cognition. This is true even among university students majoring in biology and medicine. Even though students have never learned about “race” explicitly in formal biology class, they are highly likely to implicitly construct, and hold biological concepts of race. This study investigated how Korean college students majoring in General Science Education define the concept of race and acquire a scientific conception of race. The study draws on Efstathiou (2009)’s framework of the “founded concept.” Two open-ended questions regarding race conceptualization were administered to 218 college students. Furthermore, interviews with three students were conducted to explore any biological meaning of race. The results suggest four types of conception held by students about race. These were race as a typological means of distinguishing human diversity, race as a biological concept, race as a social construct, and race as a bio-social mixture. Additionally, in-depth interviews indicated that students constructed their biological concept of race unintentionally through learning biology. There are three mediators which have a role as mediator in the transfiguration process of finding and founding race concepts in a biological context: skin color, reproductive isolation, and ethnicity. Accordingly, science teachers should carefully teach this information in order to help prevent any misunderstanding of biological racial concepts. Teaching strategies and other educational implications are discussed.