Abstract:

The theory of evolution is one of the most important theories in biological sciences. No doubt that success of evolution education in compulsory education depends on knowledgeable and skilled biology teachers regarding the theory of evolution. It is therefore very important to assess whether the future biology teachers are equipped with necessary knowledge and self-efficacy in order to teach the theory of evolution in an effective and accurate way. To this end, this study aimed to explore Turkish prospective biology teachers’ knowledge about the theory of evolution and their self-efficacy beliefs in the teaching the theory in their classes. Further, it also aimed to assess the relationship between these two variables. In total, 579 preservice biology teachers participated in this study. Participants’ knowledge and conceptions about the theory of evolution was assessed through the “Scale of Evolution Knowledge Test” whereas their self-efficacy beliefs in teaching the theory of evolution was assessed through the “Scale of Teaching Evolution Self-Efficacy Belief”. The results showed that the knowledge of the participants regarding the theory of evolution and their self-efficacy beliefs regarding teaching the theory of evolution in their classes were quite low. The analysis also revealed that there was a positive but weak relationship between the two variables, indicating that teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs increase with the increase in their knowledge. This low levels of knowledge and self-efficacy revealed by this study points out the need for reconceptualizing evolution education in biology and biology education departments.

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