The present research aims to determine whether or not pre-service science teachers in Turkey are resistant to
learning about the theory of evolution (TOE), and to understand the reasons for their acceptance or rejection
of this theory. Following an intervention process, essay documents were collected from each participant
(N=113) and analysed using typological techniques. Then, the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution
(MATE) survey was employed (N=93). Finally, an interview was conducted (N=6) and the data were
analysed in the frame work of inductive analysis techniques. According to the essay document analysis, almost
all participants had neither conceptual knowledge of the TOE nor any scientific argumentation ability in the
context of Toulmin’s Argument Pattern (TAP). Participants who did not believe in the TOE mostly used
Islamic rhetoric as a basis for their arguments rather than a scientific point of view. The MATE survey results
indicated that participants’ own ideological perspective was the only determinant factor which was statistically
significant (p

• Pre-service science teachers’ acceptance of biological evolution in Turkey

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