Muslim students’ appreciation of biological theory of evolution: the Netherlands case
Journal of Biological Education, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/00219266.2026.2628794
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Biological Education
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, BIOSIS, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Greenfile, Zoological Record, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Appreciation of science, evolution, higher education, Muslim, Netherlands
- Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The present research aims at exploring whether Muslim university students in the Netherlands appreciate the biological theory of evolution (BTE). Appreciation of BTE is not only limited with acceptance or understanding of BTE but it also considers the value given to the theory. In Western countries, although there are many studies on acceptance-rejection tendencies or understanding of BTE, they generally do not focus on Muslim minority groups’ appreciation of BTE. To do this in the current study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Muslim graduate and undergraduate students in the Netherlands. Data coding and analysis were based on typological analysis. Participants’ (N = 12) answers were categorised and evaluated by proximity to key practices of the Enlightenment, such as scientific argumentation and reasoning. According to our study’s findings, all participants except one had reservations against BTE. Specifically, most participants disagreed with macroevolution. Moreover, they contradicted themselves, particularly with regard to the application of BTE in daily life contexts such as vaccines and antibiotics. One stated that their public-school teacher refused to teach BTE in class, based on the codes of freedom of education in the Netherlands. In the long term, this may result in problems concerning equal access to science education for a Muslim minority.