Prospective Teachers' Views Toward Evolution Education In Botswana And Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This paper presents data arising from a study of Botswana student teachers' attitudes towards evolution education with comparative reference to a previous Papua New Guinea study. Generally, results were similar, reflecting the cultural and background educational similarities exhibited by the two nations. However, notable differences arose in relation to the association between these attitudes and religious affiliation, the African sample exhibiting the strong presence of a nonconformist minority and the mainstream/fundamentalist dichotomy being less pronounced than in the Melanesian study.