Abstract
A decade after the introduction of the topic into the South African public school curriculum, the theory of evolution by natural selection is poorly understood among those who teach it, and that flawed understanding is transferred to those attempting to learn it. The curricula, support material and textbooks designed to underpin teaching and learning of evolution are often inaccurate. Deeply held religious views in the country, especially Christianity, remain a stumbling block towards understanding and accepting evolution. The lack of scientific literacy allows for the continuation of Social Darwinism and racial stereotypes and deprives the victims of those ills of the knowledge and mechanisms of thought to counter these ideas. This review explores the relatively sparse but nevertheless well-conducted research into evolution education in South Africa. We conclude that an understanding of human evolution is essential to the country’s growing democracy because it provides a framework within which South Africans can understand and appreciate the diversity and heterogeneous nature of our society.
 Significance:
 
 Various obstacles in the teaching and learning of evolution are identified, and generalisable recommendations are provided to improve evolution education on a practical level.
 Evolution education is important for the South African public: to take pride in our rich fossil resources; to understand and appreciate human diversity; to dispel the racist myths of Social Darwinism; and to ensure the success of our education system by teaching the consilience of induction and logical reasoning.
 This synthesis of the research provides a starting point for anyone wanting to conduct evolution education research in South Africa in the future, specifically those in the fields of curriculum reform, life sciences or biological anthropology.
Highlights
The ability to discuss and debate controversial topics fairly, logically and democratically, is necessary for democracy to work.[1]
The aim of this review was to summarise and synthesise the research that has been undertaken on evolution education in South Africa
Observations and suggestions for education discussed in each study and interpret them within the larger contexts of South African history and evolutionary theory
Summary
The ability to discuss and debate controversial topics fairly, logically and democratically, is necessary for democracy to work.[1]. Any accurate account of human evolution must be Africa-centred, and a thorough understanding of the concept will allow South Africans to appreciate the vast human diversity, socially and biologically, of our heterogeneous population. Research has shown that even small educational programmes can change students’ attitudes towards human variation.[2] To escape the vestiges of Social Darwinism still prevalent in South African society, we need to cultivate a society that is scientifically literate, that understands human variation through the framework of human evolution and that can discuss and debate these issues effectively. The aim of this review was to summarise and synthesise the research that has been undertaken on evolution education in South Africa. Observations and suggestions for education discussed in each study and interpret them within the larger contexts of South African history and evolutionary theory
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