Construction of a Review About Epigenetics for Biology Teachers and Other Non-experts

Abstract

Epigenetics, the new research field at the cutting edge of biology research, needs to be introduced in biology education. The aim of this review is to support biology teachers and other non-experts to get an overview of the field, as a review in epigenetics has hardly been written for these groups. This review was done by finding documents describing central features of epigenetics, increasing the understanding of epigenetics’ contribution to perspectives in society, and to be a model for a review in a rapidly developing science field. As an example of societal perspectives, the old dispute about “nature” or “nurture” is discussed, epigenetics focusing on the role of “nurture’s” influence on “nature.” Consequently, epigenetics dispels biological determinism. As this review was intended to fill a gap in the literature, a theoretical framework for the construction of the review had to be invented. This was done in an iterative process during the construction of the review. Documents were searched for in the databases of ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science, peer-reviewed, and had been published by a well-renowned publisher. The search time frame was January 2016 to December 2019, including document types books and book chapters, plus journal articles for ERIC; documents had to be written in English and published as open access. Searches were divided into pre-defined categories based on a newly performed Delphi study. Exemplar studies, which best described each category, are discussed in the light of frontline research. As implications from epigenetics are important for a variety of areas within society, the review is a contribution to the field of sociology of science, aiming to support science education at the very front of science.

Defining epigenetic literacy: How to integrate epigenetics into the biology curriculum

“…Only a handful of studies have been published—mostly practitioner papers, giving suggestions for lessons or laboratory work that introduce epigenetics to biology teachers. Recently, a review about epigenetics for biology teachers and other non‐experts was published (Mc Ewen, 2022) to help biology teachers in grasping the content of epigenetics. However, no study has investigated what a scientifically literate individual ought to know about epigenetics, and how this knowledge could be included in the secondary school curriculum.…”