Evolution acceptance among pre-service primary teachers

Arthur, Shagufta

doi:10.1186/1936-6434-6-20

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…So far, studies showed varying results, depending on the used instrument or the surveyed country. Results of some previous studies on university students of different European countries are supported by our findings (Arthur 2013;Beniermann 2019;Betti et al 2020;European Commission 2005;Gefaell et al 2020;Graf and Soran 2010;Großschedl et al 2014;Konnemann et al 2018;Nehm et al 2013;Southcott and Downie 2012). However, other studies revealed undecided positions or rejection of evolution among pre-service teachers in Greece and Turkey (Akyol et al 2010(Akyol et al , 2012Bilen and Ercan 2016;Deniz et al 2011;Deniz and Sahin 2016;Graf and Soran 2010;Irez and Bakanay 2011;Yüce and Önel 2015).…”

Section: Within the Group Of European First-year University Students Country Affiliation Plays Only A Minimal Role In Accepting Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 84%

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

et al. 2021

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Background Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution education research. Ambiguous results in this field of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance differently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these deficits, we conducted a standardized European survey, on 9200 first-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, comprehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as influencing factors on evolution acceptance. Results We found that, despite European countries’ different cultural backgrounds and education systems, European first-year university students generally accept evolution. At the same time, they lack substantial knowledge about it, even if they are enrolled in a biology-related study program. Additionally, we developed a multilevel-model that determines religious faith as the main influencing factor in accepting evolution. According to our model, knowledge about evolution and interest in biological topics also increase acceptance of evolution, but to a much lesser extent than religious faith. The effect of age and sex, as well as the country’s affiliation, students’ denomination, and whether or not a student is enrolled in a biology-related university program, is negligible. Conclusions Our findings indicate that, despite all their differences, most of the European education systems for upper secondary education lead to acceptance of evolution at least in university students. It appears that, at least in this sample, the differences in knowledge between countries reflect neither the extent to which school curricula cover evolutionary biology nor the percentage of biology-related students in the country samples. Future studies should investigate the role of different European school curricula, identify particularly problematic or underrepresented evolutionary concepts in biology education, and analyze the role of religious faith when teaching evolution.

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Section: Within the Group Of European First-year University Students Country Affiliation Plays Only A Minimal Role In Accepting Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 84%

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

et al. 2021

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“…The initial structure of the GAENE employed a four‐option response format (1 = Strongly Disagree to 4 = Strongly Agree). This ordinal‐option structure is in accord with the view of Carter and Wiles () that there are “various shades of evolution acceptance” that students take (Arthur, ; p. 7). We chose to have an even number of options in our first version so as to discourage large numbers of participants from choosing a neutral, “no opinion,” option to avoid deeper consideration, although we anticipated the need for changing to a 5‐option structure.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 76%

The GAENE—Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation: Development of a new measure of evolution acceptance

2016

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The present study reports the development of a brief, quantitative, web-based, psychometrically sound measure-the Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation (GAENE, pronounced "gene") in a format that is useful in large and small groups, in research, and in classroom settings. The measure was designed to measure only evolution acceptance-not related knowledge or religious beliefs. Item development was based on extensive student interviews and pretesting followed by multiple rounds of qualitative review and quantitative validity testing based on expert review (Lawshe, 1975) and multiple rounds of item revision, then by reliability testing of over 600 high school (HS) and post-secondary (PS) students (Study 1, GAENE 1.0). Data analysis strongly supported the reliability and validity of GAENE 1.0, principal components analysis supported a two-factor solution. All the negatively worded items (and only those items) loaded on the second factor. Rasch analysis also suggested the need for items that would be endorsed at the lower end of the person-item scale. The negatively worded items were, therefore, reworded as positives, additional items were generated to attract wider endorsement, two additional rounds of qualitative and quantitative expert validation were conducted, and reliability testing was repeated with over 600 HS and PS students (Study 2, GAENE 2.0). Both reliability and validity indices of GAENE 2.0 were strong (Lawshe content validity index ¼ 0.72; Cronbach's alpha HS ¼ 0.940; Cronbach's alpha PS ¼ 0.948; Cronbach's alphacombined ¼ 0.945). Principal components analysis suggests that GAENE 2.0 measures a single factor. Together with Rasch analysis results, these data provide substantial initial evidence to support the validity and psychometric integrity of the GAENE as a measure of the degree to which high school and college students accept the theory of evolution. The rigorous development process can also serve as a model for others interested in measure development. #

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“…I therefore use the term ‘creationism’ to represent specifically anti-evolutionary science stances. Several different authors have tried to outline differing scales and categories of evolution and creationism that encompass the wide range of versions of creationism (see Arthur, 2013; Scott, 2009). This kind of categorization is highly contested as these categories are not necessarily discrete nor definitive and do not entirely capture the range of possible perspectives or reflect the lived experience of individual’s understanding of the relationship between their own spiritual or religious belief and evolutionary science.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating creationists: The influence of ‘issues framing’ on our understanding of public perceptions of clash narratives between evolutionary science and belief

Elsdon‐Baker

2015

Public Underst Sci

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Clash narratives relating to evolutionary science and personal belief are a recurrent theme in media or public space discourse. However, a 2009 British Council poll undertaken in 10 countries worldwide shows that the perception of a necessary clash between evolutionary worldviews and belief in a God is a minority viewpoint. How then does the popular conception that there is an ongoing conflict between evolution and belief in God arise? One contributing factor is the framing and categorization of creationism and evolutionism within large-scale surveys for use within media campaigns. This article examines the issue framing within four polls conducted in the United Kingdom and internationally between 2008 and 2013. It argues that by ignoring the complexity and range of perspectives individuals hold, or by framing evolutionary science as atheistic, we are potentially creating 'creationists' - including 'Islamic creationists' - both figuratively and literally.

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Evolution acceptance among pre-service primary teachers

Cited by 9 publications

References 34 publications

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

The GAENE—Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation: Development of a new measure of evolution acceptance

Creating creationists: The influence of ‘issues framing’ on our understanding of public perceptions of clash narratives between evolutionary science and belief

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