College students in the southern US can change their views about evolution

Abstract

ABSTRACT Students enrolled in two sections of a first-year non-majors biology course at a mid-sized university in the Mid-South were administered an instrument pre- and post-course comprised of the Measure of the Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE), the Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation (GAENE), 10 items related to pre-existing attitudes towards science and religion, and demographic items. Students in both sections received instruction in evolution, with one section receiving a supplemental presentation on the varying views within creationism. Correlations between MATE and GAENE scores were calculated, and comparisons were made between sections on changes in scores for both measures. We sought to answer these questions: 1) What is the current level of acceptance among first-year students in the Mid-South? 2) Are students amenable to changing their views? 3) Does discussing various creationist views matter? 4) Do demographics or pre-existing attitudes predict students’ acceptance? Students in both sections showed significant increases in acceptance, though no difference in the degree of increase was detected between the supplemented and standard instruction sections. Public high school graduates had higher initial acceptance than non-public school students. Strong correlations between measurement instruments were detected.