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'Significant minority' of teachers want creationism in schools

1 min read Education
Almost three in 10 teachers disagree with the government's guidelines on teaching evolution and would like creationism to be taught in science lessons, according to a survey.

The survey by Teachers' TV, a satellite TV channel, found 29 per cent of teachers disagreed with government guidelines that say "creationism and intelligent design are not part of the science national curriculum programmes of study and should not be taught as science".

Andrew Bethell, head of Teachers' TV, said: "The debate on whether there is a place for the teaching of creationism in the classroom is still fierce.

"Although 50.4 per cent of teachers either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the idea that creationism should be given the same status as evolution, there is a significant minority who believe that it should be given equal weight."

Of the 1,210 teachers who took part in the survey, 53 per cent thought that creationism should not be taught in science lessons. Thirty one per cent believed that intelligent design and creationism deserved "equal status" in the classroom.

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