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ERIC Number: EJ1343965
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Feb
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-7685
EISSN: EISSN-1938-4211
Understanding of Evolution Law among K-12 Public School Teachers
Hermann, Ronald S.; Shane, Joseph W.; Meadows, Lee; Binns, Ian C.
American Biology Teacher, v82 n2 p86-92 Feb 2020
Despite frequent litigious interactions between science and religion, when it comes to the teaching of evolution, relatively little is known about public school teachers' understanding of the associated legal issues. The present study expands on Moore's (2004) survey by obtaining more information about respondents, surveying teachers from multiple states, including teachers of all grade levels, and including "I don't know" as an option on the original survey developed by Moore. The survey was completed by 208 teachers from 42 states. Findings include a detailed portrait of teachers' understanding of evolution-related laws and the time they devote to teaching evolution. Our results indicate that the majority of surveyed teachers devote >13 hours of instruction per class semester to evolution and teach evolution either as a unifying theme throughout the class or as a unit of instruction. The responses indicate that a majority of the teachers surveyed possess a sufficient understanding of legal issues but lack a sufficient understanding of the more nuanced aspects of evolution case law. The findings indicate the need for improved preservice and inservice instruction that addresses evolution case law, emphasizing the legal parameters that teachers should adhere to when teaching evolution.
University of California Press. 2000 Center Street Suite 303, Berkeley, CA 94704. Tel: 510-643-7154; Fax: 510-642-9917; e-mail: customerservice@ucpressjournals.com; Web site: http://www.ucpressjournals.com/journal.php?j=abt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Maryland; California; Illinois; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A