Variables predicting prospective biology teachers’ acceptance perceptions regarding gene technology

Abstract

The different opinions on products and applications of gene technology (GT) draw attention to the training and education activities related to GT. The purpose of this study is to review some variables predicting the acceptance perception regarding GT, and to investigate their changes at levels. The prospective teachers' subjective knowledge and interest levels in relation to the use of GT and their risk and acceptance perceptions have been questioned through a Likert type questionnaire. Latent class and binary logistic regression analyses were used. This study was carried out with 135 prospective biology teachers. According to our study, it is possible to state that there are variables, at 5% level of significance, predicting acceptance of interest and risk variables in terms of GT. As perception towards GT being risky decreases and interest towards GT increases, the acceptance perception regarding GT increases.