Biology teachers\u2019 conceptions of Humankind Origin across secular and religious countries: an international comparison

Heslley Machado Silva,Martín Andrés Díaz,Gabriela Varela Belloso,Alandeon W Oliveira,Graça S Carvalho

doi:10.1186/s12052-020-00141-9

Heslley Machado Silva, Martín Andrés Díaz + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-020-00141-9

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Abstract

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.

Highlights

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
Catholics were followed by Evangelicals, who in Brazil made up 11% of our sample—higher when compared to the other two countries, Argentina (5%) and Uruguay (4%)
National religiosity Our results indicate that national religiosity is a societal factor that should be considered when considering how biology teachers from a given country view evolution-related topics such as human origin

Summary

Introduction

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. Headlines like “Creationism invades Europe” and “Evolution abroad: Creationism evolves in science classrooms around the Globe” sound the alarm on a seemingly global spread of the creationist movement, raising concerns about the potential growth of anti-evolution attitudes within public education systems worldwide (Blancke and Kjærgaard 2016; Harmon 2011; Miller et al 2006). Aligned with this international trend, Latin America, Brazil, has recently witnessed increasing debate and controversy about religion, evolution, and public education (Cornish-Bowden and Cardenas 2007; Oliveira and Cook 2019; Salzano 2005). Silva et al Evo Edu Outreach (2021) 14:2 forces such as national religiosity and personal factors (e.g., commitment to science and/or religion), in a globalized era that allows for rapid worldwide travel of competing ideologies

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