Assessing Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Academic Knowledge and Misconceptions about Evolution and Genetics

Evolution and genetics play a vital role in comprehending the field of biology and are widely recognized as unifying, interdisciplinary concepts within biological research. This study has a dual objective. Firstly, it aims to assess the knowledge (academic performance) and misconceptions concerning evolution and genetics among pre-service science teachers. Secondly, it seeks to compare these findings across different years of study and gender among participants. A pragmatic mixed-method design was employed, involving 240 pre-service science teachers in their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree at a university in Ghana. The study employed the Test on Evolution and Genetics Concepts (TEGIC), semi-structured interview questions, and document analysis to collect data. The collected data were analyzed using inferential statistics and descriptive-interpretive analysis. The results indicated no significant differences in academic success regarding evolution and genetics among pre-service science teachers based on their year of study and gender. Additionally, the findings revealed numerous misconceptions among pre-service science teachers, particularly related to concepts such as natural selection, human evolution, the connection between genetics and evolution, genetics crossing, blood groups, and DNA replication. Consequently, this study has implications for stakeholders in science education, suggesting the implementation of innovative teaching strategies, including conceptual maps, conceptual networks, semantic features analysis, technology integration, and conceptual change texts in the science classroom, to enhance the understanding of pre-service teachers. Moreover, student-centred learning activities should be implemented to foster conceptual development in these science concepts.