Canadian Pre-Service Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of Biological Evolution and Evolution Education.

This study explores pre-service elementary school teachers’ understandings of evolutionary science and their feelings and concerns about teaching evolution in Canadian elementary schools. Data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Most participants reported acceptance of evolution as a scientifically factual phenomenon, and almost three quarters of those who accepted evolution reported that they intend to include biological evolution in their elementary science teaching. A landscape of sensitivities related to participants’ decisions about teaching evolution emerged, including concerns regarding the religious beliefs of students and their parents, the pre-service teachers’ inadequate understanding of evolutionary science, and their lack of knowledge of related pedagogical techniques. This study calls for more effective training of future teachers in evolutionary science and for teachers to be professionally prepared to deal with potential social challenges and pressures regarding the teaching of evolution in elementary schools. CONCEPTIONS DES FUTURS ENSEIGNANTS CANADIENS A L’ELEMENTAIRE SUR L’EVOLUTION BIOLOGIQUE ET L’ENSEIGNEMENT DE L’EVOLUTION RESUME. Cette etude explore la comprehension des futurs enseignants a l’elementaire de la science de l’evolution ainsi que leurs sentiments et preoccupations quant a l’enseignement de l’evolution dans les ecoles primaires du Canada. Les donnees ont ete recueillies au moyen d’un questionnaire et d’entrevues semi-structurees. La majorite des participants ont avalise la conception de l’evolution comme phenomene factuel sur le plan scientifique, et presque trois quarts de ceux qui ont accepte cette conception ont affirme qu’ils avaient l’intention d’inclure l’evolution biologique dans leur programme d’enseignement des sciences au niveau primaire. De ces donnees s’est degage un panorama de sensibilites liees a la decision des participants d’enseigner l’evolution, y compris des preoccupations concernant les croyances religieuses des eleves et de leurs parents, la comprehension imparfaite des futurs enseignants de la science de l’evolution et leur manque de connaissance quant aux techniques pedagogiques connexes. Cette etude reclame une formation plus efficace des futurs enseignants de la science de l’evolution et une preparation professionnelle des enseignants pour qu’ils puissent affronter les pressions et les defis sociaux lies a l’enseignement de l’evolution dans les ecoles elementaires. Asghar, Wiles, & Alters 190 REVUE DES SCIENCES DE L’EDUCATION DE MCGILL • VOL. 42 NO 2 PRINTEMPS 2007 INTRODUCTION This study examines the ideas of future elementary teachers about evolution, the underlying principle of biology and one of the most important science concepts. According to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1999), “The theory of evolution has become the central unifying concept of biology and is a critical component of many related scientific disciplines. . . . The teaching of evolution should be an integral part of science instruction” (p. 1-2). As fundamental as evolution may be to basic science literacy, it is all too often neglected in science curricula at all levels, and perhaps most often at the elementary school level (Lerner, 2000; Alters & Alters, 2001; Gross, Goodenough, Haack, Lerner, Schwartz & Schwartz, 2005). In order to gain insight into some possible reasons for this omission, we explored future elementary teachers’ attitudes and ideas about teaching evolution in elementary school science classes in a Canadian province. The geographical context of the study is of particular importance because treatment of evolution is prescribed by a new province-wide elementary science curriculum where this study was conducted. Within this curriculum, “evolution of life forms” is categorized as “essential knowledge” under the category of living things. Charles Darwin is mentioned as one of the important scientists whose work has contributed to “fundamental progress in science and technology” (Quebec Education Program, 2001, p. 171). Therefore, the study population is of distinct interest because, according to the provincial curriculum document, these prospective teachers may soon be expected to teach evolution. We were interested in exploring participants’ conceptions about evolution and their intentions regarding evolution education. These students had recently completed a basic science course as part of their preparation program in which evolutionary science was addressed. While there is a growing body of literature about teacher attitudes and understanding of biological evolution in various international settings, relatively little is known about the ways in which Canadian pre-service elementary teachers understand the science of evolution and how they plan to approach any issues related to the teaching of evolution. This study was conducted within the Faculty of Education at a leading Canadian university to explore pre-service elementary school teachers’ perspectives about evolution and evolution education.

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