Survey Results: Evolution Weak in Public Schools Despite Dover | The Institute for Creation Research

Survey Results: Evolution Weak in Public Schools Despite Dover

Pennsylvania State University political scientists recently published a report in the journal Science titled "Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom."

They cited the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover trial, in which a federal court decided that intelligent design "was not science...but rather an effort to advance a religious view via public schools, a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause."1

"Many scientists cheered the decision....We suggest that the cheering was premature and the victory incomplete," they wrote.1

The researchers developed and conducted a survey…which they dubbed the "National Survey of High School Biology Teachers," despite not having official federal support…of 926 U.S. high school biology instructors between March and May in 2007. They found that only about 28 percent of the teachers surveyed advocated the teaching of evolutionary biology in classrooms, while 13 percent advocated creation science.

"The data reveal a pervasive reluctance of teachers to forthrightly explain evolutionary biology," they reported. "The data further expose a cycle of ignorance in which community antievolution attitudes are perpetuated by teaching that reinforces local community sentiment."1

Their summary quoted a Minnesota teacher's answer: "I don't teach the theory of evolution in my life science classes, nor do I teach the Big Bang Theory in my [E]arth [S]cience classes....We do not have time to do something that is at best poor science."1

Sixty percent of the teachers surveyed supported the position that neither evolution nor creation should be taught. "Our data show that these teachers understandably want to avoid controversy. Often they have not taken a course in evolution and they lack confidence in their ability to defend it."1

The study's authors also wrote:

[A] sizable number of teachers expose their students to all positions…scientific or not. Students should make up their own minds, explained a Pennsylvania teacher, 'based on their own beliefs and research. Not on what a textbook or on what a teacher says.' Many of these teachers might have great confidence in their students' ability to learn by exploration. But does a 15-year-old student really have enough information to reject thousands of peer-reviewed scientific papers? This approach tells students that well-established concepts like common ancestry can be debated in the same way we debate personal opinions.1

In other words, unless students hold the same opinions on science as these researchers, they do not have "enough information" to draw their own conclusions from scientific evidence and grow into thinking adults.

The "problem" most likely is not that students and their teachers need to be taught more evolution, since this survey's results show over twice as many biology teachers advocating teaching evolution in their classrooms as those advocating creation science. A recent assessment of American students conducted by the Department of Education also reveals a significant emphasis on evolution in the classroom.2

But it seems that despite undermining the will of the people by going through the court systems, the supporters of evolution-only teaching can do little to mitigate how poorly the actual theory explains the raw scientific data.3 And as the Minnesota teacher mentioned, teaching "poor science" is a waste of time and resources in any classroom.

References

  1. Berkman, M. B. and E. Plutzer. 2011. Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom. Science. 331 (6016): 404-405.
  2. Dao, C. Test Scores Suggest American Students Struggle to Think Critically in Science. ICR News. Posted on icr.org March 2, 2011, accessed March 2, 2011. 
  3. The Institute for Creation Research's website contains many articles on the life sciences that analyze how a plethora of scientific discoveries refute the theory of evolution. See Evidence for Creation: The Life Sciences.

* Ms. Dao is Assistant Editor at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on March 7, 2011.

The Latest
NEWS
Liberty and the Word of God
“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts” (Psalm 119:45). July 4th is called Independence Day here in our country because on...

NEWS
July 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome...

NEWS
Valued Longtime ICR Employee Mary Smith Retires
Mary Morris Smith, an employee of the Institute for Creation Research for many years, has retired. The second daughter of ICR founder Dr. Henry M. Morris...

NEWS
Man of Science, Man of God: George Washington Carver
Who:  George Washington Carver What: Father of Modern Agriculture When: 1864 or 1865 – January 5, 1943 Where: Diamond Grove,...

ACTS & FACTS
The Scopes Monkey Trial: A Battle of Worldviews
Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, and its statue of William Jennings Bryan Image credit: M. Mueller The Scopes Monkey...

ACTS & FACTS
Long Non-Coding RNAs: The Unsung Heroes of the Genome
Evolutionary theory holds that all living things came about through random, natural processes. So conventional scientists believe the genome has developed...

ACTS & FACTS
Yosemite National Park, Part 1: Tiny Clues of a Grand Picture
Yosemite National Park in California is a sure source of stunning scenery. It’s no wonder that American naturalist John Muir persuaded President...

ACTS & FACTS
From Inference to Theory: A Common Design Case Study
Without a doubt, humans, chimpanzees, and other organisms share similar features. An early explanation was that these features reflect similar designs...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: T. rex
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Entering By The Door
Recently, I hosted a visiting pastor from a large church at ICR’s Discovery Center. As I guided him through our Dallas museum, one conversation...