Christian and Muslim Teachers and Students' Views of the Theory of Evolution: Implications for Science and Higher Education

Teaching evolution continues to be controversial, primarily because of its perceived conflict with personal beliefs and apparent challenge to religious accounts of creation in Christianity and Islam. Egypt and Lebanon are two countries with a majority of Muslims and sizeable Christian communities, and, thus, they present opportunities for investigating the interaction between science and religion. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight findings from a series of studies that investigated college and high school teachers' and students' views about evolution in Egypt and Lebanon. Implications for education in general and science education more specifically are highlighted.

Saouma Boujaoude completed a doctorate in science education in 1988 at the University of Cincinnati, USA. He is presently professor of science education and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the American University of Beirut. His research interests include evolution education, curriculum, teaching methods, and the nature of science. BouJaoude has published in international journals such as the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education, International Journal of Science Education, Journal of Science Teacher Education, Science Teacher, and School Science Review, among others. Additionally, he has presented his research at local, regional, and international education conferences. He is director of the International Conference on Effective Teaching and Learning in Higher Education hosted by the American University of Beirut Center for Teaching and Learning in collaboration with the Lilly Conferences on College and University Teaching.

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