Abstract
Our knowledge of the human brain and the way it functions is constantly changing as is the teaching of it which is influenced by social stigmas linked to research, health and social habits but also to morals. This paper aims to define their inter-relationship through a critical analysis of the latest Biology syllabus and secondary-school textbooks in both France and Tunisia. The results revealed that while in France the new syllabi have advocated the teaching of the biological fundamentals of constructivism including the concepts of epigenesis and cerebral plasticity, there still lies an undercurrent of traditional values amongst the pupils. Current Tunisian textbooks have, on the other hand, stopped at behaviourist theories which continue to be a part of French textbooks at the 12/ 13-, 14/ 15-and 16/ 17-year-old levels. Heredity, which limits cerebral development to genetic pre-determination, is explicitly present in textbooks in Tunisia but more implicitly in France at the 16-17 year old level. Whilst all biological processes are regulated -and especially those concerning the nervous system -few if any of the diagrams tracing neuron displacement showed any signs of feedback (i. e. returning to its place of origin) with the rare exception of the case of neurohormonal regulation. This paper thus discusses the impact of these ideas on citizens.
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