Social and Rational: The Presentation of Nature of Science and the Uptake of Change in Evolution Textbooks

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe nature of science (NOS) as described by education scholars is a critical component of scientific literacy and includes both rational and social aspects taught best in an explicit and reflective manner. NOS is frequently tied to a critical contextual empiricism (CCE) framework for knowledge production. Central to CCE is that objectivity is attained only with an integration of the rational and social within a diverse community of scholars that is open to criticism. The field of sexual selection theory is ripe with opportunities to present NOS in an explicit and reflective context that promotes the understanding of knowledge production as simultaneously social and rational. We examined the presentation of sexual selection theory in college evolutionary biology textbooks to evaluate the extent to which textbooks demonstrate uptake of change in the field and use socially driven critique to present science as both social and rational. All of the textbooks incorporated new research in the field and some provided context about how and why the field has changed but not to the degree warranted by the rich literature available. We provide recommendations for the integration of NOS and social embeddedness of science, and posit that a portrayal of science as both social and rational has the potential to promote more inclusive science teaching and a more accurate representation of science.