Tendencies of comprehension and acceptance of theory of evolution: A study involving students from the faculties of education and theology

Abstract

The current study aimed to identify the views of students from the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Theology from the University of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam regarding their comprehension and acceptance of the theory of evolution. A survey model was used involving a quantitative research design. The working group of the study was composed of 425 university students attending a state university in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Gender, faculty, department, year and political views of the teacher candidates were used as independent variables of the study. According to the findings obtained from the study, the tendency to accept evolution was higher among first year female students from the science department of the Faculty of Education compared to male students in the Faculty of Theology. This tendency was also higher among students with leftist ideas compared to students with other political views. Significant differences in various dimensions were also observed. It was found that university students’ acceptance of the theory of evolution was low. This view was as expected mainly due to the students living in a Muslim country. © 2016 Bilen and Ercan.