Acceptance of Evolution Increases with Student Academic Level: A Comparison Between a Secular and a Religious College

Abstract

Acceptance of evolution among the general public, high schools, teachers, and scientists has been documented in the USA; little is known about college students’ views on evolution; this population is relevant since it transits from a high-school/parent-protective environment to an independent role in societal decisions. Here we compare perspectives about evolution, creationism, and intelligent design (ID) between a secular (S) and a religious (R) college in the Northeastern USA. Interinstitutional comparisons showed that 64% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 42/62% (S/R) nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching of evolution in science classes; 24/29% (S/R) biology majors vs. 26/38% (S/R) nonmajors perceived ID as both alternative to evolution and/or scientific theory about the origin of life; 76% (mean S + R) biology majors and nonmajors accepted evolutionary explanations about the origin of life; 86% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 79% (mean S + R) nonmajors preferred science courses where human evolution is discussed; 76% (mean S+R) biology majors vs. 79% (mean S + R) nonmajors welcomed questions about evolution in exams and/or thought that such questions should always be in exams; and 66% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 46% (mean S + R) nonmajors admitted they accept evolution openly and/or privately. Intrainstitutional comparisons showed that overall acceptance of evolution among biologists (S or R) increased gradually from the freshman to the senior year, due to exposure to upper-division courses with evolutionary content. College curricular/pedagogical reform should fortify evolution literacy at all education levels, particularly among nonbiologists.

A Global Perspective of the Variables Associated with Acceptance of Evolution

“…Our finding of a strong positive relationship between scientific literacy and public acceptance of evolution supports previous findings (Paz-Y-Mino 2009;Susteric 2007). We assume that science literacy is associated with science education efforts.…”

“…Capitalizing on the opportunities that globalization has afforded, researchers have collected international data on public acceptance of evolution (Miller et al 2006;Hameed 2008) and other data such as religiosity, school-life expectancy, scientific literacy, and gross domestic product per capita (Gallup 2009;Central Intelligence Agency 2007;OECD 2009). Previous research (Paz-Y-Mino 2009;Susteric 2007;Alters and Nelson 2002) explored the relationship between the variables and acceptance of evolution; however, our research extends these findings by exploring their relationship on an international level. Our results provide a framework for the ongoing exploration of evolution acceptance and its relationship to science issues and education of the public on a global scale.…”

“…Regardless of religion, it appears that as the amount of science that an individuals are exposed to through schooling increases, there is a corresponding increase in their acceptance of evolution (Susteric 2007;Alters and Nelson 2002). There has been much research on how many topics relate to acceptance of evolution; however, the findings have not been reported on an international scale (Paz-Y-Mino 2009;Susteric 2007;Alters and Nelson 2002).…”

The relative importance of religion and education on university students’ views of evolution in the Deep South and state science standards across the United States

“…Teachers that had the largest number of college-level courses in biology and life science devoted significantly more time (60%) to evolution than teachers that were less prepared . Therefore, both personal beliefs and the level of scientific literacy of teachers were important when explaining the variance in the number of hours devoted to evolution in high school biology classes Paz-y-Mino and Espinosa 2009;Trani 2004).…”

Should the Teaching of Biological Evolution Include the Origin of Life?

“…have critically reviewed some aspects of the analysis of U.S. college students' views on biological evolution published by Paz-y-Miño and Espinosa (2009). In their work, Rice et al (2010) discuss, in rather convincing terms, the limits of the term "biological evolution," which underlies the diversity of life both in time and space, and which should not be confused with the concept of "change" that permeates many other areas of scientific inquiry, i.e., the changes in time observed in manifold physical and chemical systems, for instance, which are not akin to biological evolution.…”