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Why is Darwin nearly extinct in textbooks?
Charles Darwin is missing from many textbooks.
As Charles Darwin's 200th birthday approaches, new research from the University of Salford has identified a decline in references to the pioneering scientist in A level textbooks - despite the continuing presence of creationist theory.
Dr Paul Rees, a lecturer in biology and former A level teacher, examined textbooks and syllabuses used in the UK since the sixties, and found that textbooks currently in use sometimes completely fail to mention Darwin, and often only deal very sketchily with the theory of evolution.
On the other hand, creationism gets several references in current textbooks, including Hall et al 2006 which says the idea that all living things are descended from a common ancestor is a minority view among the people of the world.
Dr Rees, who teaches in the School of Environment & Life Sciences said: "While the historical context of important theories, and the names of their proponents, are commonplace in textbooks written for some other subjects, such as psychology, in biology textbooks Darwin is sometimes not deemed important enough to mention.
"If people are giving space to nonsense like creationism, then they should certainly be mentioning the most important figure in our understanding of the natural world.
"Role models and icons are important to help young people become inspired by science. It's a shame that biology examiners and therefore textbooks don't always recognise this."
Dr Rees' research was first published in the journal School Science Review.
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