Abstract:

In 2002 the OECD introduced the term “neuromyth” to describe common but incorrect beliefs about the brain, mainly held by educators and public in general. Since then, several studies have confirmed that the approach of teachers and educators to the neuroscience advancements can be problematic, when these neuromyths are accepted as established facts.

While some teachers avoid any kind of brain-centrism, others are fascinated by the allure of neuroscience, showing an uncritical acceptance of brain based outcomes or products. In our study we analysed the perceptions of the teachers (N=55) and preservice teachers (N=155) towards the most common neuromyths, based on the studies of Howard-Jones.

Our results confirmed that there are some myths that are disappearing (the majority of the teachers manifested that are false facts); however, there are another group of neuromyths that are deeply rooted, and are assumed as true knowledge by a great number of teachers. The dominance of these myths still obscures the strides that being made by neuroscience in relevant areas of education.

As a conclusion, we prioritize the Neuroscientific literacy as a first step of working with teachers, in order to be critical with different neuromyths. Also with educational students that are trained to become a teacher, which demystification would need to be integrated into the syllabus of the educational careers.

Keywords:

Educational neuroscience, neuroscientific literacy, neuromyth.