Table 2 Conceptual framework for the analysis of school curricula regarding evolution (pre-FACE-2*)

1. History of life

1.1 Life has been on Earth for a long time

1.2 Present day life forms are related to past life forms

1.3 Large scale environmental changes (caused by geological, geophysical, astronomical factors) and biological evolution are linked

1.4 Anthropogenic environmental changes and biological evolution are linked

1.5 Many life forms that once existed have gone extinct

1.6 Rates of evolution vary

1.7 Life forms/species/ change through time

2. Evidence for Evolution

2.1 Similarities and/or differences among existing organisms (including morphological, developmental, and molecular similarities) provide evidence for evolution

2.2 Evolution can be directly observed

2.3 The fossil record provides evidence for evolution

2.4 The geographic distribution of extant species provides evidence for evolution

2.5 Artificial selection provides evidence for evolution

2.6 Organisms’ features, when analysed in relation to their environment provide evidence for evolution

3. Mechanisms of Evolution

3.1 Evolution is often defined as a change in allele frequencies within a population

3.2 There is variation within a population

3.3 Living things have offspring that inherit many traits from their parents but are not exactly identical to their parents

3.4. Evolution occurs through multiple mechanisms

3.5. Natural selection acts on the variation that exists in a population

3.6 Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism’s survival and reproduction

3.7 Sexual selection occurs when selection acts on characteristics that affect the ability of individuals to obtain mates

3.8 Genetic drift acts on the variation that exists in a population

3.9 Fitness is reproductive success—the number of viable offspring produced by an individual in comparison to other individuals in a population/species

3.10 Species can be defined in many ways

3.11 Speciation is the splitting of one ancestral lineage into two or more descendant lineages

3.12 Evolution does not consist of progress in any particular direction

4. Studying evolution

4.1 Scientists study multiple lines of evidence about evolution

4.2 In everyday life we can find applications of evolutionary biology

4.3 Classification is based on evolutionary relationships

5. Nature of Science

5.1 Science is a human endeavor (achievement)

5.2 Science provides explanations for the natural world

5.3 Science is based on empirical evidence

5.4 Scientific ideas can change through time

5.5 Scientific theories are built through a transparent collective endeavor