Creationist and Evolutionary conceptions in teacher training in two regions of Brazil

This study aims to analyze conceptions of creationi sm and evolutionism among educators-intraining in the city of Formiga in the Brazilian st ate of Minas Gerais. Data collection was conducted based on a questionnaire developed by the European research project BIOHEADCITIZEN. To explore possible regional influences, t he data obtained in Formiga, MG, were compared with data collected in São Paulo state, in Brazil. The results show a greater prevalence of creationist ideas among students of the Faculty of Education in Formiga, MG, compared to the results for the state of São Paulo. This prevalence aris s due to the influence of religious, cultural and social values, which may be related to deficien cies in how evolution is taught throughout elementary school. The influence that these educato rs-in-training will have on children in the future may cause difficulties in the latter’s acqui sition of scientific knowledge. This work is being funded by FAPEMIG.