Creationists have far less influence in New Zealand than they do in the US. Still, quite a large proportion of Christians here do not accept evolutionary science. So, I imagine, their wish to undermine the teaching of evolutionary science sometimes becomes an issue, for some teachers.
Here’s a couple of videos prepared by the US National Center for Science Education (NCSE) which does a great job in the US. They are of a talk given by NCSE programs and policy director Steve Newton to an audience of high school teachers from across the US.
Steve covers questions like:
- What challenges do biology teachers face from creationists?
- How do you respond to students asking the “10 questions”?
- What are the different flavors of creationist belief?
- And other issues.
Teaching evolution in a climate of science denial, Part 1.
Part 2: Teaching evolution in a climate of science denial, Part 2.
See also: NCSE YouTube Channel
Thanks for this Ken
“quite a large proportion of Christians here do not accept evolutionary science”
Not my impression (quite the opposite in fact). However, I’ve not seen any numbers from surveys. Do you have any?
When Chaplain at the ChCh College of Ed I was invited to participate in a class of prospective teachers doing a science unit specifically to respond to those uncomfortable with evolutionary science. So, the issue is real for some teachers.
I expect that the issue is real for some parents, but I do not hear too much of what happens in school in NZ on that issue. However, I note that a lot of the parents who choose to homeschool are keen creationists. This concerns me that whilst homeschooling produces better academic results on average than “normal” schooling, it may be that there is a distortion around science.