Young students from Cuiabá, scientific interests and perceptions about the evolutionary theory

Abstract

The aim of this study was to learn about the perceptions of some students about scientific themes, their professional choices as well as their opinions about evolutionary themes. Four hundred and six (406) students participated of this research, 55.6% were young male students enrolled in the 1st year of High School in public schools in Cuiabá – MT. The data was generated from questionnaires and the statistical analyses were performed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 18.0. The results demonstrate that there is an interest in learning science in school among the students from Cuiabá. It can be highlighted their motivation to learn about human biology. Nevertheless, the proximity with science gains a new reconfiguration when the theme is the evolutionary theory, as most students do not recognize the validity of scientific explanations about human origin and are unaware of some evolutionary concepts.

Keywords

• ciência escolar
• evolução biológica
• ensino médio
• percepção pública