RT Journal Article
T1 Acceptance and knowledge of evolutionary theory among third-year university students in Spain
A1 Gefaell Borras, Juan
A1 Prieto Fernandez, Tamara
A1 Abdelaziz, Mohamed
A1 Álvarez Fernández, María Inés
A1 Antón, Josefa
A1 Arroyo, Juan
A1 Bella, Jose L.
A1 Botella López, Miguel C.
A1 Bugallo Rodríguez, Ánxela
A1 Claramonte, Vicente
A1 Gijón, José
A1 Lizarte, Emilio
A1 Maroto, Rosa M.
A1 Megías Pacheco, Manuel
A1 Milá, Borja
A1 Ramón, Cori
A1 Vila, Marta
A1 Rolán Álvarez, Emilio
K1 7205.01 Filosofía de la Biología
AB The theory of evolution is one of the greatest scientific achievements in the intellectual history of humankind, yet it is still contentious within certain social groups. Despite being as robust and evidence-based as any other notable scientific theory, some people show a strong reluctance to accept it. In this study, we used the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) and Knowledge of Evolution Exam (KEE) questionnaires with university students from four academic degree programs (Chemistry, English, History, and Biology) of ten universities from Spain to measure, respectively, acceptance and knowledge of evolutionary theory among third-year undergraduate students (nMATE = 978; nKEE = 981). Results show that acceptance of evolution is relatively high (87.2%), whereas knowledge of the theory is moderate (5.4 out of 10) although there are differences across degrees (Biology>Chemistry>History>English), and even among various universities (ranging from 4.71 to 5.81). Statistical analysis reveals that knowledge of evolutionary theory among Biology students is partially explained by the relative weight of evolutionary themes within the curriculum, suggesting that an increase in the number of hours dedicated to this topic could have a direct influence on students’ knowledge of it. We also found that religion may have a significant-although relatively small-negative influence on evolutionary theory acceptance. The moderate knowledge of evolution in our undergraduate students, together with the potential problem of acceptance in certain groups, suggests the need for a revision of the evolutionary concepts in the teaching curricula of our students since primary school.
PB PLoS ONE
SN 19326203
YR 2020
FD 2020-09-03
LK http://hdl.handle.net/11093/3686
UL http://hdl.handle.net/11093/3686
LA eng
NO PLoS ONE, 15(9): e0238345 (2020)
NO Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2016-037
DS Investigo
RD 05-oct-2024