From roots to fruits : Measuring and fostering first scientific ideas in kindergarten children about the topic of evolution

Evolution is the core theory of biology and has a central role in structuring learning about biology. Despite ongoing research in science education, learners of all ages struggle with acquiring conceptual knowledge about evolution due to intuitive explanatory frameworks that persist from childhood. Therefore, researchers argue that the integration of the topic of evolution in early education might facilitate later learning in school. However, significant gaps exist in current research, including appropriate educational materials, data on children's pre-existing ideas about evolution, and the lack of tools to assess those ideas.

To address these gaps, this dissertation comprises four empirical studies focused on measuring and promoting young children's ideas about evolution. Study 1 analyses children's books about evolution with regard to the addressed concepts, organismal examples, unscientific reasoning, and scientific language. Study 2 systematically examines children's ideas about the evolutionary principles through interviews. Study 3 draws on the previous findings and is concerned with the development and validation of the Conceptual Assessment of Children's Ideas about Evolution (CACIE) – a standardized interview-based assessment tool designed to measure children's ideas about evolution. Study 4 employs the CACIE to assess the impact of two interventions each using a different storybook on variation and inheritance. Overall, the presented dissertation contributes to the existing body of research on early evolution education. It suggests that children’s first ideas about variation, inheritance, and selection offer a basis for promoting first scientific ideas about evolution as early as in kindergarten. However, it also emphasizes that such an endeavor requires the development of high-quality and empirically tested educational materials to enrich biology learning throughout the educational journey.

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