Understanding patterns of evolution acceptance—A new implementation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) with Midwestern university students

Romine, William L.; Walter, Emily M.; Bosse, Ephiram; Todd, Amber

doi:10.1002/tea.21380

Cited by 40 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…In addition to widespread difficulty in, and lack of, understanding regarding evolutionary biology, low rates of acceptance of evolution have been reported in the general population (Miller et al 2006;Gallup 2016), in pre-service educators (Romine et al 2016), high school biology educators (Moore and Kraemer 2005;Moore and Cotner 2009;Glaze and Goldston 2015), university professors (Romine et al 2016), and in various student populations (Rice et al 2011;Romine et al 2016). Although belief and acceptance may be closely related, recent investigators of evolution acceptance have separated these constructs, with acceptance being more closely related to "believing that" rather than "believing in" (Smith et al 2016(Smith et al , pp.…”

Section: Acceptance Of Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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: Acceptance Of Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2018

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“…The decision to rely on factor analysis was rooted in the philosophical position of our design team, and supported by literature recounting the similarity of finalized instrument models when the same set of data was refined through different methods-e.g., CFA, IRT, and/or Rasch modeling (e.g., Sharkness & DeAngelo, 2011). Research literature in science education continues to advance factor analysis as a common and acceptable method of initial survey development (e.g., Deniz, Donnelly, & Yilmaz, 2008), and IRT is often applied after several administrations to further fine-tune an instrument (e.g., Romine, Walter, Bosse, & Todd, 2017). Certainly, IRT could be used during the development process; however, many of the immediate advantages of using IRT were addressed in others ways in the present study, such as the use of the MLR estimator to adjust for non-normal data and procurement of a large sample size (n > 1000) suitable for factor analysis (Rosseel, 2010;S ebille et al, 2010).…”

Section: Journal Of Research In Science Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and validation of an instrument to assess student attitudes toward science across grades 5 through 10

Summers

Abd‐El‐Khalick

2017

J Res Sci Teach

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The aim of the present study is to enable future studies into students’ attitudes toward science, and related constructs, by developing and validating an instrument suitable for cross‐sectional designs. Following a thorough review of the literature it was determined that many extant instruments included design aspects that appeared to be limited in some way. The BRAINS (Behaviors, Related Attitudes, and Intentions toward Science) Survey was designed to address core criticisms that have been leveled against many existing instruments. BRAINS was rooted in a theoretical framework drawn from the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior (TRAPB). Initial development involved review by an expert panel, adaptation for online delivery and a pilot on this platform. To establish the psychometric validity of the 59‐item instrument it was administered to a representative, random sample of 1,291 Illinois students in grades 5 through 10. Confirmatory factor analysis and subsequent refinement yielded a 30‐item instrument with five factors and a good statistical fit including a RMSEA of 0.04 and a CFI of 0.95. The five factors, or constructs, of the final instrument model reflect the underlying TRAPB framework: attitudes toward science, behavioral beliefs about science, intentions to engage in science, normative beliefs, and control beliefs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 55: 172–205, 2018

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“…205 While there are a number of more recent evolutionary acceptance measures (Nadelson & 206 Southerland, 2012;Smith, Snyder, & Devereaux, 2016), the MATE was chosen as it is a 207 consistently valid instrument that allows a comparison between the present study and the many 208 former studies that used the measure previously. Additionally, we are aware of a recent study 209 that finds a potential two-factor structure in the MATE (Romine, Walter, Bosse, & Todd, 2017). 210…”

Section: Data Collection 190mentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Acceptance of Evolution and Associated Factors during a Year of Introductory Biology: The Shifting Impacts of Biology Knowledge, Politics, Religion, Demographics, and Understandings of the Nature of Science

Dunk

Wiles

2018

Preprint

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2A great deal of recent research has identified many factors influencing student acceptance of 3 biological evolution, but few of these factors have been measured in a longitudinal context of 4 changing knowledge and acceptance of evolution over a period of instruction. This study 5 investigates factors previously associated with evolution acceptance as well as other potential 6 factors among students over the course of a year-long majors and nonmajors introductory 7 biology sequence at a private, research-intensive university in the northeastern United States. 8Acceptance of evolution was measured using the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of 9 Evolution (MATE) instrument, and other factors were measured using well-established 10 instruments and a demographic survey. As expected given the context, evolution was widely 11 accepted (71% of our sample scored in the "high" or "very high" acceptance range) among the 12 population, but 160 students were in the very low to moderate acceptance range. Over the course 13 of the academic year, normalized change regressions revealed that as knowledge of the Nature of 14 Science (NoS) increased, evolution acceptance increased (R 2 = .378, p << 0.001). Increasing 15 levels of genetic literacy (R 2 = .214, p << 0.001) and Evolutionary Knowledge (R 2 = .177, p << 16 0.001) were also significantly associated with increases in acceptance of evolution. To our 17 knowledge, this study is also the first to examine the longitudinal effect of combining various 18 factors into unified working models of acceptance of evolution. From fall to spring, the influence 19 of student knowledge of NoS on evolution acceptance increased, as did the influence of genetic 20 literacy. Conversely, the influence of religious variables decreased, as did the influence of 21 political inclinations and race/ethnicity. Our results indicate that as students learn more about the 22 nature of science, they may rely more on scientific explanations for natural phenomena. This 23 study also underscores the importance of using longitudinal, multifactorial analyses to 24 understand acceptance of evolution. 25

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Understanding patterns of evolution acceptance—A new implementation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) with Midwestern university students

Cited by 40 publications

References 80 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

Development and validation of an instrument to assess student attitudes toward science across grades 5 through 10

Changes in Acceptance of Evolution and Associated Factors during a Year of Introductory Biology: The Shifting Impacts of Biology Knowledge, Politics, Religion, Demographics, and Understandings of the Nature of Science

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