College students' perceptions of the theory of evolution

Abstract

AbstractAlthough a well‐corroborated scientific theory, the theory of evolution has continued to cause dilemmas for some individuals who have not easily been able to accommodate the concepts of this theory within their “cognitive culture.” The reason lies in the overlap of some ideas that the theory advocates with other social, epistemological, and religious beliefs. This study describes how 11 college biology students who completed a course on the theory of evolution perceive the relationship among their epistemological beliefs about science, their beliefs about religion, and their perception of nature and causality and their position regarding the theory of evolution. It also compares the different positions of the students to that of the course instructor. Questionnaires and semistructured interviews were used to collect data. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data and identify the various positions of the students and course instructor. The students' positions ranged from complete acceptance to complete rejection of the theory of evolution. The results suggest that students' personal beliefs should not be dismissed or underestimated when teaching the theory of evolution. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 395–419, 2008