y2019m07b14 20190730093100 assa nadine@assaf.org.za assa South African Journal of Science S. Afr. J. Sci 1996-7489 07302019 115 7/8 Clarisa Sutherland Physical Anthropology Section, Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5502-9308 Ericka N. L'Abbé Physical Anthropology Section, Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6722-8814 A decade after the introduction of the topic into the South African public school curriculum, the theory of evolution by natural selection is poorly understood among those who teach it, and that flawed understanding is transferred to those attempting to learn it. The curricula, support material and textbooks designed to underpin teaching and learning of evolution are often inaccurate. Deeply held religious views in the country, especially Christianity, remain a stumbling block towards understanding and accepting evolution. The lack of scientific literacy allows for the continuation of Social Darwinism and racial stereotypes and deprives the victims of those ills of the knowledge and mechanisms of thought to counter these ideas. This review explores the relatively sparse but nevertheless well-conducted research into evolution education in South Africa. We conclude that an understanding of human evolution is essential to the country’s growing democracy because it provides a framework within which South Africans can understand and appreciate the diversity and heterogeneous nature of our society. 07302019 1 10.17159/sajs.2016/crossmark sajs.co.za false 2018-08-13 2019-03-19 2019-07-30 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 10.17159/sajs.2019/5672 20190730093100 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672/7974 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672/7974 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672/7974 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672/7974 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672/7974 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672/7974 https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5672/7974