Science Standards, Science Achievement, and Attitudes About Evolution

Belin, Charlie M.; Kisida, Brian

doi:10.1177/0895904814550069

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…Additional measures of broad student knowledge-ACT Math score and cumulative college GPA at the start of term-were also included in our investigation. While geographical location and context may impact students' evolution acceptance (Berkman and Plutzer 2011;Belin and Kisida 2014), we also did not address this as a variable in our study. A final limitation of our study is that we did not include a measure of religiosity, a variable which has been repeatedly reported to have a significant association with evolution acceptance (Smith 2010;Rissler et al 2014;Dunk et al 2017).…”

Section: Measures Of Student Performance and Evolution Acceptancementioning

confidence: 97%

Investigating undergraduate health sciences students’ acceptance of evolution using MATE and GAENE

et al. 2018

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Background: Despite the overwhelming agreement among scientists regarding the fundamental importance of evolution to all areas of biology, a lack of evolution understanding and acceptance has been reported in studies of students, educators, and members of society. In the present study, we investigate and report evolution acceptance in a population of undergraduate health sciences students enrolled in a first-year foundational biology course. Two published instruments-The Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) and the Generalized Acceptance of Evolution Evaluation (GAENE)-were used to quantify evolution acceptance. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on both instruments to test whether the items measured the underlying construct sufficiently. Additionally, Rasch scaling was used to investigate fit between the data and the measurement model, and to determine if the MATE should be treated as a unidimensional or bidimensional instrument. Using correlation and regression analysis, we examined the relationships between the two measures of evolution acceptance, and between measures of evolution acceptance with other student variables of interest. Results:The health sciences students in this study demonstrated high acceptance of evolution at the start of term, as well as a significant increase in evolution acceptance from pre-to post-test. CFA and Rasch scaling provided some evidence that the MATE is a bidimensional instrument, but considering MATE as a bidimensional instrument provided little additional insight compared to treating MATE as a unidimensional instrument. Measures of evolution acceptance resulting from the MATE and GAENE instruments were significantly and strongly correlated. Multiple regression modeling identified underrepresented minority status as a demographic variable predictive of evolution acceptance, and provided further evidence of the strong association between the MATE and GAENE instruments. Conclusions:The undergraduate health sciences students in this study demonstrated a significant increase in evolution acceptance from pre-to post-test after one semester of instruction in general biology. Measures of evolution acceptance from the MATE and GAENE instruments were strongly correlated whether MATE was treated as a unidimensional or bidimensional instrument. This work provides initial indications that the MATE and GAENE instruments perform comparably as measures of evolution acceptance. Although the instruments are closely related, this work found more psychometric evidence for interpreting and using GAENE scores than MATE scores as a measure of evolution acceptance. which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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Section: Measures Of Student Performance and Evolution Acceptancementioning

confidence: 97%

Investigating undergraduate health sciences students’ acceptance of evolution using MATE and GAENE

et al. 2018

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“…Smith () outlines utilitarian, economic, democratic, cultural, and moral reasons to include evolution in science education, and Heddy and Nadelson () found a strong positive correlation between evolution acceptance and science literacy as well as GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita across 35 countries—though not the US, which has a lower level of public acceptance of evolution than expected for its GDP per capita. Within the US, evolution acceptance and GDP per capita are strongly correlated across states (Heddy and Nadelson, ) and a recent study demonstrated a clear and consistent relationship between a state's public acceptance of evolution and the levels of science achievement of students in that state (Belin and Kisida, ). It is argued that not accepting evolution limits peoples’ ability to make informed decisions about a wide range of phenomena, many of which have personal ramifications for their health (vaccines, medicine, biotechnology, and genomics) as well as the health of the planet (agriculture, conservation, biodiversity, and climate change) (Mead and Branch, ; Evans et al, ; Southerland and Nadelson, ; Brem and Sinatra, ; Nadelson and Hardy, ), because the modern theory of evolution undergirds other areas of science research ranging from anatomy to ecology to genetics (Hermann, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Accepting, understanding, teaching, and learning (human) evolution: Obstacles and opportunities

Pobiner

2016

American J Phys Anthropol

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Questions about our origin as a species are universal and compelling. Evolution-and in particular human evolution-is a subject that generates intense interest across the world, evidenced by the fact that fossil and DNA discoveries grace the covers of major science journals and magazines as well as other popular print and online media. However, virtually all national polls indicate that the majority of Americans strongly reject biological evolution as a fact-based, well-tested, and robust understanding of the history of life. In the popular mind, no topic in all of science is more contentious or polarizing than evolution and media sources often only serve to magnify this polarization by covering challenges to the teaching of evolution. In the realm of teaching, debates about evolution have shaped textbooks, curricula, standards, and policy. Challenges to accepting and understanding evolution include mistrust and denial of science, cognitive obstacles and misconceptions, language and terminology, and a religious worldview, among others. Teachers, who are on the front lines of these challenges, must be armed with the tools and techniques to teach evolution in formal education settings across grades K-16 in a straightforward, thorough, and sensitive way. Despite the potentially controversial topic of human evolution, growing research is demonstrating that a pedagogical focus on human examples is an effective and engaging way to teach core concepts of evolutionary biology. Am J Phys Anthropol 159:S232-S274,

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Twenty‐Years of Anti‐Climate Change and Anti‐Evolution Education Legislation in the United States

da Rosa

2024

Science Education

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Both evolution and climate change have broad scientific consensus, and yet they are the most contested scientific concepts in the US K‐12 education system. This study aimed to explore trends in proposed US state legislation employed from 2003 to 2023 by anti‐evolution and anti‐climate change education movements to constrain the teaching of these sciences. Using a historical qualitative research design, document analysis was used to evaluate state legislation and reports from the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). Two hundred and seventy‐three climate and evolution‐related House and Senate bills, concurrent resolutions, and joint resolutions were identified, coded, and analyzed. Eleven anti‐science education legislative tactics were employed from 2003 to 2023. Five were first identified in the literature review: academic freedom (42.1%), rebranding (12.1%), balanced treatment (12.1%), censorship (2.6%), and disclaimers (2.6%). Six new tactics were revealed in the analysis: anti‐indoctrination (16.8%), standards (12.1%), instructional materials (10.3%), religious liberty (8.8%), avoidance (4.4%), and religious instruction (4.0%). One‐quarter of bills and resolutions employed a combination of tactics. The most ubiquitous tactics were academic freedom bills, which urge science teachers to introduce ideas like intelligent design or climate change denial under the mantle of academic freedom, and anti‐indoctrination bills, which prevent teachers from advocating for controversial topics deemed political. Since 2017, anti‐indoctrination has become the preferred tactic. Southern, southeastern, and midwestern states were the most prolific in their contribution to anti‐science education legislation. Qualitative analysis revealed bill and resolution language was often recycled across years and states with slight changes to wording. From 2003 to 2023, the total number of anti‐science education state legislative efforts increased, as did the number of passed bills and resolutions. The implications of these tactics and trends are considered.

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Science Standards, Science Achievement, and Attitudes About Evolution

Cited by 6 publications

References 43 publications

Investigating undergraduate health sciences students’ acceptance of evolution using MATE and GAENE

Investigating undergraduate health sciences students’ acceptance of evolution using MATE and GAENE

Accepting, understanding, teaching, and learning (human) evolution: Obstacles and opportunities

Twenty‐Years of Anti‐Climate Change and Anti‐Evolution Education Legislation in the United States

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