Biology teachers’ conceptions of Humankind Origin across secular and religious countries: an international comparison

Evolution

article

Silva, Heslley Machado¹  Oliveira, Alandeon W.²  Belloso, Gabriela Varela³  Díaz, Martín Andrés⁴  Carvalho, Graça S.⁵ 

[1] University Center of Formiga-MG;State University of New York Albany;National Administration of Public Education;Center for Studies in Philosophy and History of Sciences, National University of Matanza;Institute of Education, University of Minho

关键词: Humankind origin;    Evolution;    Creationism;    Biology teachers;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12052-020-00141-9

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Striving toward a better understanding of how the global spread of creationist ideology may impact biology teachers and teaching worldwide, this study comparatively examines how biology teachers from three Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay) conceive the origin of humankind. It is reported that teachers from Uruguay (the most secular country) and Argentina (a country with intermediate religiosity) more frequently associated humankind origin with scientific terms Evolution, Natural selection, and Australopithecus. In contrast, Brazilian teachers stood out as those most frequently associating humankind’s origin to the religious term “God” alongside scientific terms. This study underscores the importance of the interplay of social factors (societal religiosity) and psychological factors (e.g., personal commitment) when considering the impact of teacher exposure to creationist ideology. It also highlights the need for biology teachers (particularly those in more religious countries) to undergo professional development.

【 授权许可】

Unknown