Wissen und Einstellung zur Evolution in Europa - Empirische Erkenntnisse aus europäischen ländervergleichenden Analysen

In modern biology, evolution is the key concept and thus, of great importance in biology education. It has repeatedly shown that representatives of different age groups or education levels have difficulties understanding evolutionary concepts. Also, research about the acceptance and rejection of evolution has come to the fore in recent decades. With the growing body of evolution education research, measurement issues complicate the situation in terms of the possibility to compare data of different surveys. Additionally, the discussion about influencing factors on acceptance of evolution like knowledge about evolution or religious faith has arisen and is still ongoing due to deviating results in publications. Three papers have been published as part of this dissertation project. All three papers focus on the measurement issues in evolution education and particularly on the unclear situation of the fragmented research situation in Europe. Paper I concentrates on a systematic literature review on the state of evolution education research in Europe while taking measurement issues into account. Findings indicate a lack of standardized assessment of acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution across Europe and, therefore, reasonably comparable data. Paper II introduces an updated version of an instrument (KAEVO 2.0) to measure the knowledge about such evolutionary concepts that are essential for understanding evolution. Paper III takes the findings of Paper I up and provides the first standardized European cross-country assessment of evolution acceptance and knowledge. By use of a validated, comprehensive questionnaire, the ‘Evolution Education Questionnaire (EEQ)’ that assesses evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as influencing factors on acceptance of evolution. 11,723 first-year university students in 26 countries were surveyed. It was demonstrated that European first-year university students in biology-related as well as non-biology related study programs generally accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it. A multilevel model revealed religious faith as the main influencing factor on acceptance of evolution, whereas for instance, the country’s affiliation is negligible. As part of Paper III, the EEQ has been translated into 23 different languages. Overall, this dissertation expands the existing body of research on evolution education by (1) creating a systematic overview of the state of evolution education research in Europe, (2) composing an instrument based on the investigation of several sources of validity evidence to measure acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution comprehensively, which is currently available in 23 languages and can be easily translated into other languages by use of a standardized ready-to-use protocol, and (3) conducting the first standardized European cross-country assessment on acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution.Europäische Kommission; ROR-ID:00k4n6c3

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it : a standardized European cross-country assessment

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Background: Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution education research. Ambiguous results in this field of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance differently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these deficits, we conducted a standardized European survey, on 9200 first-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, comprehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as influencing factors on evolution acceptance. Results: We found that, despite European countries’ different cultural backgrounds and education systems, European first-year university students generally accept evolution. At the same time, they lack substantial knowledge about it, even if they are enrolled in a biology-related study program. Additionally, we developed a multilevel-model that determines religious faith as the main influencing factor in accepting evolution. According to our model, knowledge about evolution and interest in biological topics also increase acceptance of evolution, but to a much lesser extent than religious faith. The effect of age and sex, as well as the country’s affiliation, students’ denomination, and whether or not a student is enrolled in a biology-related university program, is negligible. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that, despite all their differences, most of the European education systems for upper secondary education lead to acceptance of evolution at least in university students. It appears that, at least in this sample, the differences in knowledge between countries reflect neither the extent to which school curricula cover evolutionary biology nor the percentage of biology-related students in the country samples. Future studies should investigate the role of different European school curricula, identify particularly problematic or underrepresented evolutionary concepts in biology education, and analyze the role of religious faith when teaching evolution.Peer reviewe

Towards common ground in measuring acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution across Europe : a systematic review of the state of research

Background Relatively little information is available regarding the level of acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution in different educational settings in Europe. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap and provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research regarding evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of students and teachers across Europe, based on a systematic literature review. Results We identified 56 papers for the period 2010–2020, presenting results for 29 European countries. Both knowledge and acceptance of evolution were assessed in 17 studies. Out of 13 instruments most commonly used in the literature, five have been used in the European context so far: ACORNS, CINS, I-SEA, KEE and MATE. Thirty-one other instruments were identified of which 16 were used in studies on knowledge and 15 in studies on acceptance. The extent of knowledge was hard to compare even within groups of the same education level due to the application of different instruments and assessment of different key concepts. Our results illustrate the persistence of misconceptions through all education levels. Comparing acceptance among different education levels and countries revealed a high diversity. However, a lack of evolution in curricula tended to be associated with rejection of evolution in some countries. European studies that investigated both acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution varied highly concerning the existence and strength of the relationship between these factors. However, some trends are visible, such as an increase of strength of the relationship the higher the education level. Conclusions The present review highlights the lack of a standardized assessment of evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of evolution across Europe and, therefore, of reasonably comparable data. Moreover, the review revealed that only about one-third of all studies on acceptance and/or knowledge about evolution provided evidence for local validity and reliability. We suggest the use of assessment categories for both knowledge and acceptance instruments to allow for interpretation and comparison of sum scores among different sample groups. This, along with prospective comparative research based on similar samples, paves the way for future research aimed at overcoming current biases and inconsistencies in results.European Cooperation in Science and Technology http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000921Peer Reviewe

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution edu‑ cation research. Ambiguous results in this feld of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance difer‑ ently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these defcits, we conducted a stand‑ ardized European survey, on 9200 frst-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, com‑ prehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as infuencing factors on evolution acceptance

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution edu‑ cation research. Ambiguous results in this feld of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance difer‑ ently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these defcits, we conducted a stand‑ ardized European survey, on 9200 frst-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, com‑ prehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as infuencing factors on evolution acceptance

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution edu‑ cation research. Ambiguous results in this feld of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance difer‑ ently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these defcits, we conducted a stand‑ ardized European survey, on 9200 frst-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, com‑ prehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as infuencing factors on evolution acceptance

Evolution Education Questionnaire on Acceptance and Knowledge (EEQ) : standardised and ready-to-use protocols to measure acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution in an international context

The lack of standardised assessment of evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of evolution across Europe makes comparisons between studies difficult. The Evolution Education Questionnaire on Acceptance and Knowledge (EEQ) was constructed to measure attitudes and understanding across Europe and beyond. We aimed to compile a brief instrument to allow for easy application in school and university. The target group of the EEQ was freshman university students who had just finished their secondary education. However, several components of the questionnaire were developed and validated for additional target groups. Therefore, this questionnaire may, in addition, be suitable for students in secondary school, in-service teachers as well as the general public.This method report describes the contents and application of the EEQ and provides information on survey conduction, data preparation, analyses and interpretation of results to serve as a standardised and ready-to-use protocol to measure the acceptance of and knowledge about evolution in a local, national or international context. To allow for sampling in different European countries, we present the EEQ in 23 European languages.The lack of standardised assessment of evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of evolution across Europe makes comparisons between studies difficult. The Evolution Education Questionnaire on Acceptance and Knowledge (EEQ) was constructed to measure attitudes and understanding across Europe and beyond. We aimed to compile a brief instrument to allow for easy application in school and university. The target group of the EEQ was freshman university students who had just finished their secondary education. However, several components of the questionnaire were developed and validated for additional target groups. Therefore, this questionnaire may, in addition, be suitable for students in secondary school, in-service teachers as well as the general public. This method report describes the contents and application of the EEQ and provides information on survey conduction, data preparation, analyses and interpretation of results to serve as a standardised and ready-to-use protocol to measure the acceptance of and knowledge about evolution in a local, national or international context. To allow for sampling in different European countries, we present the EEQ in 23 European languages

Evolution in European and Israeli school curricula : a comparative analysis

Abstract: The contribution of school curricula to public understanding and acceptance of evolution is still mostly unknown, due to the scarcity of studies that compare the learning goals present in different curricula. To overcome this lack of data we analysed 19 school curricula (18 European and one from Israel) to study the differences regarding the inclusion of learning goals targeting evolution understanding. We performed a quantitative content analysis using the Framework for the Assessment of school Curricula on the presence of Evolutionary concepts (FACE). For each country/region we analysed what this educational system considered the minimum evolution education a citizen should get. Our results reveal that: (i) the curricula include less than half of the learning goals considered important for scientific literacy in evolution; (ii) the most frequent learning goals address basic knowledge of evolution; (iii) learning goals related with the processes that drive evolution are often not included or rarely mentioned; (iv) evolution is most often not linked to its applications in everyday life. These results highlight the need to rethink evolution education across Europe

Evolution in European and Israeli school curricula – a comparative analysis

The contribution of school curricula to public understanding and acceptance of evolution is still mostly unknown, due to the scarcity of studies that compare the learning goals present in different curricula. To overcome this lack of data we analysed 19 school curricula (18 European and one from Israel) to study the differences regarding the inclusion of learning goals targeting evolution understanding. We performed a quantitative content analysis using the Framework for the Assessment of school Curricula on the presence of Evolutionary concepts (FACE). For each country/region we analysed what this educational system considered the minimum evolution education a citizen should get. Our results reveal that: (i) the curricula include less than half of the learning goals considered important for scientific literacy in evolution; (ii) the most frequent learning goals address basic knowledge of evolution; (iii) learning goals related with the processes that drive evolution are often not included or rarely mentioned; (iv) evolution is most often not linked to its applications in everyday life. These results highlight the need to rethink evolution education across Europe.</p