Williams, James (2009) Belief versus Acceptance: why do people not believe in evolution? BioEssays, 31 (11). pp. 1255-1262. ISSN 0265-9247

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Abstract

Despite being an established and accepted scientific theory for 150 years, repeated public polls show that evolution is not believed by large numbers of people. This essay examines why people do not accept evolution and argues that its poor representation in some science textbooks allows misconceptions established and reinforced in early childhood, to take hold. There is also a lack of up to date examples of evidence for evolution in school textbooks. Poor understanding by science graduates and teachers of the nature of science and incorrect definitions by them of key terminology, serve only to undermine efforts to improve public understanding of evolution. The paper has several recommendations, including the introduction of evolution to primary age children and a call to bring evolution back as the central tenet of biology.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	creationism;evolution;intelligent design creationism; misconceptions;science education
Schools and Departments:	School of Education and Social Work > Education
Depositing User:	James Williams
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 18:10
Last Modified:	22 May 2012 09:59
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/15048

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