How Do Theist (Muslim) Pre-Service Science Teachers Reconcile Their Individual Ontologies with Premises of Modern Science

Year 2019, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 164 - 177, 07.07.2019

Halil Turgut

https://doi.org/10.21891/jeseh.568796

Abstract

The purpose of this study was
to investigate how theist (Muslim) pre-service science teachers’ reconcile
their individual ontologies, which stem from their worldviews, with premises of
modern science. 23 pre-service science teachers (10 males and 13 females, ages
ranged from 19 to 23) were selected by purposeful sampling. Data sources
included open-ended questions
and semi-structured follow-up
interviews. The qualitative analysis of data revealed that theist participants
believing in a created Nature which is being lawful and understandable but also
open to supernatural intervention diverged in their perspectives about the
ontological premises that scientists must have and presupposed theism,
theism/naturalism or just naturalism for doing science. They all asserted the
physical universe as the boundary for science and evaluated the possibility of
the scientific investigation of miracles and jinn within that boundary with the
criterion of being able to obtain empirical data. They did not perceive any
incompatibility between science and Islam and proposed methodological
naturalism for scientific practice in order to overcome potential conflicts.

Keywords

Ontological assumptions, Supernatural, Premises of modern science

References

• Turgut, H. (2019). How do theist (muslim) pre-service science teachers reconcile their individual ontologies with premises of modern science. Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health (JESEH), 5(2), 164-177. DOI:10.21891/jeseh.568796