What Pre-service Science Teachers Say but What They Really Mean Regarding the Theory of Biological Evolution1

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to find out whether the pre-service teachers’ perception of biological evolution theory is affected after attending an evolution course that specifically addresses the perceptions and acceptance of the theory. The study was designed as a qualitative phenomenological study. Data were obtained from document analyses from self-report questionnaires. Ten descriptive categories were outlined, namely evolution is related to change and development, evolution is related to the diversity of life, evolution is related to the process of life coming into being, evolution is based on scientific data, evolution has not been proven, evolution has been proven, evolution is independent of religious belief, evolution is related to religious belief and there is no evolution. It was seen that knowledge of evolution changed after participating in a course, but perceptions on evolution did