Chimpanzee included in the genus Homo? How Biology teachers from three Latin American countries conceive it

Abstract

This work intended to understand the biology teachers’ conceptions about the humans’ position regarding other animal species. It was carried out in three countries with contrasting secularism conditions: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Teachers were asked to answer, in a Likert-type scale, to the question B7 of the European project BIOHEAD-CITIZEN: “The Chimpanzee should be included in the genus Homo, notably because 98.5% of its DNA is identical to that of Homo sapiens”.. Results were analyzed within the KVP model framework and the Barbour’s four categories of relationship between science knowledge and religion. The majority of teachers surveyed in the three countries rejected the idea of including the chimpanzee in the genus Homo, suggesting the conception of human beings having a special position in relation to other animal species, despite evidence of current molecular biology. The religiosity in all countries were similar, therefore no specific influence could be tested regarding the inclusion of chimpanzee in genus Homo. This study also indicates that it is important to study further the training of biology teachers in the three countries to verify how they are being trained and evaluate their knowledge regarding molecular biology, phylogeny and evolution.