Kurzfassung

Evolution is challenging to teach due to students’ manifold non-scientific conceptions and rejection of evolution, often stemming from perceived conflicts with one’s cultural and religious beliefs, even if there is no inherent conflict between religion and science. Extensive research has been carried out around the globe (but esp. in the Global North) on students’ evolutionary knowledge, acceptance, and conflict perceptions. This research has led to considerably different findings depending...Evolution is challenging to teach due to students’ manifold non-scientific conceptions and rejection of evolution, often stemming from perceived conflicts with one’s cultural and religious beliefs, even if there is no inherent conflict between religion and science. Extensive research has been carried out around the globe (but esp. in the Global North) on students’ evolutionary knowledge, acceptance, and conflict perceptions. This research has led to considerably different findings depending on the sample’s socio-cultural environment. In the Global South, less research has been conducted, and findings may be divergent from the Global North, especially in populations where both a monotheistic, Abrahamic world religion (e.g., Christianity) and indigenous religious beliefs are relevant, as is the case in Namibia. Thus, after conducting a pre-study with a smaller sample size (Hartelt et al., 2026), we aim to conduct a questionnaire study with a broader and more diverse sample of upper-secondary students and teachers from six regions in Namibia. We will measure evolutionary acceptance, knowledge, conflict perceptions, religiosity/spirituality, religious denomination, racist perceptions of evolutionary theory, and sociodemographic data (esp. on cultural backgrounds). We aim to explore the factors influencing evolutionary acceptance and knowledge to propose educational implications for enhancing evolutionary acceptance and knowledge of Namibian students, without affecting their religious and cultural beliefs.» weiterlesen» einklappen