Abstract

A demographic examination separated by a teaching position provides a possible insight into the results of this study. These demographics are shown separately by teaching positions. Among elementary science teachers, primary non-science teachers and high school nonscience teachers, the highest proportion of evangelicals and weekly church participants is seen. These groups were also less supportive of incorporating scientific ideas into the curriculum. Similar results were seen for those who identified themselves as Republicans and Conservatives. Among the same three groups, the highest proportions for these political factors were seen. It is plausible that views on religion and politics can be linked to the individual's chosen careers. The population of the area in which the educator lives, however, is not likely to be directly related to the career path. The survey revealed that larger proportions of primary and secondary school teachers lived in rural areas. There were largely unexpected results from the aspects of this study that addressed content knowledge. These results are visible. Secondary school science teachers were noticeably higher in the group of people who had taken or more science classes. Compared to the other SSI, the self-reported understanding of development was higher for all groups. Most secondary and secondary school teachers described their understanding of evolution as above average. For the two secondary groups, this was the highest, but five of the seven teaching posts were over 50 percent. For high school teachers from stem cell research, the only group that felt that they mostly had an above average understanding (52.5 percent).