Pre-service science teachers’ genetic literacy level and attitudes towards genetics

The aim of this study is to determine pre-service science teachers’ genetic literacy level and their attitude towards genetics. The Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument (GLAI; Bowling et al., 2008) and the Genetics Attitude Scale (see Acra, 2003) were used to collect relevant data. Pre-service science teachers held quite favorable attitude towards genetics (M=3.75) while they had a relatively low level of genetic literacy (M=15.39). Their knowledge levels with respect to dimensions of the GLAI varied. For example, they were found to be more knowledgeable in the transmission of genes and followed by the nature of genetic material dimensions compared to gene expression, gene regulation and evolution dimensions. Their knowledge level in the genetics and society dimension was relatively low, indicating limited understanding of the interactions between genetics and society.