Truth in Science

A survey by Teachers' TV shows that a majority of teachers support the stance of Dr Michael Reiss: that science teachers should engage thoughtfully with pupils who question evolution. Dr Reiss recently had to step down as the Royal Society's Director of Education after defending this view at the British Association.

The results of this survey are reported today in the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and the Independent .

Nearly nine in 10 teachers agreed with Reiss that teachers should engage with pupils who raise creationism or intelligent design in science lessons.

Nearly three in ten said they either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the government's guidelines on teaching evolution which states that "creationism and intelligent design are not part of the science national curriculum programmes of study and should not be taught as science". Just over half agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.

Thirty-one per cent of the teachers surveyed said they thought creationism or intelligent design should be given the same status as evolution in the classroom.

Truth in Science's opinion on these issues in the light of the recent controversy can be found here.