Abstract

STAUB, Tatiane; STRIEDER, Dulce Maria  and  MEGLHIORATTI, Fernanda Aparecida. Analysis of Controversy between Biological Evolution and Personal Beliefs of Professors from a Biological Sciences Course. Rev. electrón. investig. educ. cienc. [online]. 2015, vol.10, n.2, pp.20-35. ISSN 1850-6666.

The Biological Evolution concept, considered as unifying axis of biological knowledge, is seen as difficult to be discussed and understood due its association with religious aspects and cultural beliefs. The conceptions and the way the teachers deal with this concept, as well as their inherent difficulties in teaching, oftentimes, promote difficulties on students' conceptual formation on Sciences and Biology classes. Based on this perspective, this qualitative research made use of interviews with nine professors from a teacher training course in Biological Sciences in order to verify if the professors who were interviewed discuss the Biological Evolution concept in their classes and how they manage the issues around Science and Religion. Another goal was checking if the professors' beliefs interfere on the articulation of their Biological Evolution concept. The data analysis had indicated that: the concept of Biological Evolution is covered by most of the professors in their classrooms; the professors identify the existence of conflicts in students when approaching the issue evolution due to their personal beliefs; and that the students' beliefs can interfere on understanding of the Biological Evolution concept. It was observed that the way professors manage the issues addressed on Science and Religion indicates different profiles of relation between these types of knowledge, but most of them establish a relation of Independence when addressing these different domains.

Keywords : Biological Evolution; Personal Beliefs; Biology Education; Teacher Training.