Australian Islamic students reconcile discord over evolution by distinguishing belief from knowledge acquisition, learning content while suspending belief in it¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2013: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Interviewed students reported they could learn scientific topics conflicting with their faith, such as evolution, without necessarily believing them, and this reconciliation was reflected in the middling Rasch location of ITEM 80. → Ian Robottom and Sharifah Norhaidah 2008

Evidence¶

Ian Robottom and Sharifah Norhaidah 2008¶

Ian Robottom and Sharifah Norhaidah. (2008). Western science and Islamic learners: When disciplines and culture intersect. Journal of Research in International Education 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240908091302

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Focus-group interviews with Year 10 students in the two Melbourne Islamic schools, following up survey trends. Students said of evolution: "You still learn it and you are open to it but you don't have to necessarily believe in it," and the article infers they were comfortable learning it as a theory.

"You still learn it and you are open to it but you don't have to necessarily believe in it."

Ian Robottom and Sharifah Norhaidah 2008 (2)¶

Ian Robottom and Sharifah Norhaidah. (2008). Western science and Islamic learners: When disciplines and culture intersect. Journal of Research in International Education 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240908091302

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Rasch analysis of the Australian survey shows ITEM 80 ('The principles of evolution are logical but I reject it because it is in conflict with my religious beliefs') at a middling location, whereas it was the fourth easiest item for Malaysian learners, supporting the view that Malaysian learners were less accommodating on controversial statements.

"This is demonstrated by the ranking of ITEM 80, which is just above the set mean on the unidimensional scale. The middling location on the unidimensional scale indicates that the probability of Australian learners endorsing this statement is not at either extreme."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Australian and Malaysian Muslim learners ranked discord items differently, with Australian students most resistant to anti-science statements and most accepting of divine-cause statements
• Malaysian Muslim students' discord scores are inversely related to sophistication of epistemological beliefs
• Students at the Melbourne Islamic schools describe the school as a safe haven whose religious security supports their learning