FACTORS INFLUENCING THE TEACHING OF EVOLUTION

The present study examined and compared the factors affecting the intentions of Turkish and German pre-service biology teachers towards teaching evolution. Data were collected by using "Evolution Teaching Intention Survey". The survey was prepared by the researcher in accordance with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), proposed by Ajzen (2002). Participants' intentions to teach evolution were determined by using structural equation modeling. The most important factor affecting the intention was found to be their attitude towards teaching evolution. The most important difference in the models constructed for Turkish and German pre-service teachers is that in addition to attitude, subjective norm is effective in the intentions of German pre-service teachers, and perceived behavior control is effective in the intentions of Turkish pre-service teachers. TPB explains the intentions of Turkish pre-service teachers to teach evolution in 61%, while it explains those of German pre-service teachers in 52%.