Philosophical Approaches of Religious Jewish Science Teachers Toward the Teaching of ‘Controversial’ Topics in Science

Abstract

This research examines the problems that religious Jewish science teachers in Israeli high schools have in coping with science subjects (such as geological time) which conflict with their religious beliefs. We do this by characterizing the philosophical approaches within Judaism that such teachers have adopted for dealing with such controversy. Thus, we surveyed 56 religious teachers using a Likert-type questionnaire developed for this research, as well as interviewed 11 teachers to more deeply probe their approaches. In addition, we surveyed 15 religious scientists, so that we could both contrast their views with our teacher samples as well as to better understand their coping strategies when confronted by scientific topics that challenge their beliefs. Results indicated that no single philosophical approach earned overwhelming support from the teachers or scientists. Instead, most of the subjects relate separately to each source of possible conflict in accordance with the philosophical approach that appears to be the most fruitful for resolving such conflicts. Moreover, both the scientists and the teachers felt less conflicted toward the specific subject of geological time, in comparison to issues connected to creation of the earth and (especially) evolution. The teachers did differ from the scientists in their preference toward philosophical approaches which help them better integrate the domains of science and religion. Based on our findings, we are able to suggest a set of strategies to help teachers overcome their difficulties in teaching 'controversial' science topics to a religiously oriented student population.

Examining the evolution education literature with a focus on teachers: major findings, goals for teacher preparation, and directions for future research

“…However, teachers with moderate convictions often accept some evolutionary topics while rejecting others. Teachers who feel some conflict between their religious beliefs and evolution tend to accept the mechanisms of evolution, but believe there is an ultimate creator or greater purpose to the process (Dodick et al 2010;Goldston and Kyzer 2009;Meadows et al 2000;Winslow et al 2011). Tomczyk and Bugajak (2009) found that 80% of Polish teachers who believed in an ultimate aim of evolution saw no conflict between religion and evolution because they could reconcile evolution within their teleological viewpoints.…”

Student Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching Biological Evolution

“…Susan also specifically addressed common misconceptions about evolution (Hermann, 2013;Sanders & Ngxola, 2009). Susan took a complementary approach, presenting evolution as not necessarily exclusive of religion (Chuang, 2003;Dodick et al, 2010;Hanley et al, 2014). Finally, Susan explicitly told students that they needed to understand but not necessarily accept evolution (Bramschreiber, 2013).…”

“…Biology teachers sometimes reject evolution (Kim & Nehm, 2011;Nehm et al, 2009;Nunez et al, 2012), are doubtful of the scientific community's acceptance of evolution (Kim & Nehm, 2011), and perceive conflict between evolution and their own religious perspectives (Dodick et al, 2010;Kim & Nehm, 2011;Nehm et al, 2009). Teacher acceptance of evolution has been positively associated with sophistication of NOS views (Kim & Nehm, 2011), negatively associated with religiosity (Nehm et al, 2009), and positively associated with use of a standardized curriculum (Nunez et al, 2012).…”

“…First, teachers may have limited evolution content knowledge and hold misconceptions about evolution content (Dodick, Dayan, & Orion, 2010;Kim & Nehm, 2011;Nehm, Kim, & Sheppard, 2009;Nunez et al, 2012). Similarly, teachers may hold naïve nature of science (NOS) ideas that challenge evolution understandings including poor understandings of scientific theories (Kim & Nehm, 2011;Nehm & Schonfeld, 2007) and the inability of evolution to be ''proven'' (Nehm & Schonfeld, 2007).…”

Evolution and Creationism in Middle Eastern Education: A New Perspective

“…Religious teachers are not necessarily creationist, as Dodick et al (2010) found that a majority of mamlakhti‐dati teachers feel that evolution does not contradict their religious beliefs. Nevertheless, evidence suggests there is still a distinct divide between the treatment of evolution in mamlakhti and mamlakhti‐dati schools.…”