bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Liz Heron

Guidelines on creationism criticised
Leading Hong Kong scientists have criticised the Education Bureau for tacitly encouraging schools to promote creationism in biology lessons through its guidelines on teaching evolution.
Four senior scientists are calling for guidance on biology teaching in the new senior secondary curriculum launched next September to be upgraded to reflect current scientific thinking.
The University of Hong Kong's dean of science Sun Kwok, science faculty board chairman David Dudgeon, former manager of its Genome Research Centre William Mak and geologist Jason Ali, say that would leave no room for teaching about creationism and intelligent design in biology.
Schools have discretion over how they teach academic subjects under flexible bureau guidelines  and at least 30 aided schools teach creationism as an 'alternative explanation' for evolution within biology.
Guidelines on the topic in HKCEE and A-level syllabuses require teachers to introduce students to the idea that evolution is a scientific theory supported with evidence.
A bureau spokeswoman said both syllabuses aimed to develop students' 'skills, values and attitudes related to scientific thinking' but  stipulated that alternative explanations to the theory of natural selection should be discussed.
'Evolution and other explanations should be discussed constructively and impartially against the evidence available, pointing out the limitation of science to provide a complete answer,' she said.
The same objective applied in the senior secondary curriculum and assessment guide for biology classes leading to the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.
'In section II, genetics and evolution, students are expected to understand that evolution is a scientific theory supported with evidence and are encouraged to explore other explanations for evolution and the origins of life in addition to Darwin's theory,' she said.
Professor Kwok   said the advice  showed a failure to understand what scientific knowledge was all about. 'Science is limited to what we can observe because scientific theories have to be tested by experiment or observation.  So, by definition, it is limited, but that doesn't mean that any alternative theory can be discussed in the science class. Certainly, there is no room for creationism and intelligent design. Debates within science classes should be limited to true scientific debates between competing scientific theories.'
Professor Dudgeon, a freshwater ecology expert, said: 'There are no substantive competing scientific explanations for evolution. Every fossil dig that people go out on essentially produces evidence that supports Darwin's theory. Each one could produce evidence that refutes Darwin's theory but it does not.
'It is ludicrous, if this theory is so important, that we are teaching alternatives. We are not still teaching students that the moon is made of green cheese or the earth is flat.'
The bureau had missed a 'golden opportunity' to bring the teaching of evolution up to a level that 'reflects international best practice and scientific rigour' in the new senior  secondary curriculum.
Noted  Sars and  bird flu researcher Malik Peiris, who is HKU's chair professor of microbiology, said: 'In biology, we should confine ourselves to the basic philosophy of the scientific method. Creationism does not fit in that category. However, it may be discussed to illustrate the social context in which science operates.'
Schools that offer creationism as an alternative to evolution in biology  include  27 run by the Church of Christ in China Association.
A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority said there were no questions on creationism or intelligent design in existing exam papers for science subjects and no plans to introduce such questions.



Scientists urge excluding God from biology