Abstract
Life Sciences curriculum in 2008. The world over, evolution has proved to be a contentious topic to teach to high
school learners despite its value in acting as ‘a blending concept’ in Biology and ‘the disease tracking foundation’
in pharmacology and medicine. In the South African Life Sciences curriculum, evolution accounts for 44% of
grade 12 content in terms of mark allocation in examinations. Hence teachers are obligated to address the topic
adequately as there are accountability issues at the end of the year. Unfortunately previous research showed that
South African teachers question the theory of evolution and are conflicted to teach it. Teacher’s personal views
on a topic or subject matter heavily influence or determine how the topic is treated in the classroom. Previous
researchers alluded to the existence of a relationship between teachers’ acceptance of evolution and the emphasis
and level of how they teach it. Accordingly, 15 teachers were interviewed each once to explore their views on the
teaching of the topic evolution to Grade 12 high schools learners and the pedagogical practices they employ when
teaching the topic. Qualitative analysis of the teachers’ responses showed teachers’ mixed views about the content
of the topic of evolution, the value of that knowledge to learners and society in general and how best it can be
taught in the science classroom. Teachers attested to the use of higher order questions, debates, argumentation
and group discussions as strategies that allow learners to share their opinions based on their diverse cultural and
religious background. The study also showed that sometimes teachers failed to reconcile their beliefs and those
of the learners and their science classroom practices...