Neuroedumyths: A Contribution from Socioneuroscience to the Right to Education for All
Keywords:
Downloads
Abstract
Scientific literature about neuromyths has proliferated in the last few years. However, there is a gap of knowledge around neuroedumyths. While neuromyths are based on hoaxes about the brain, neuroedumyths use neuroscientific concepts but state consequences for education that are false. This article presents, for the first time, research about neuroedumyths among teachers. This study has applied the innovative methodology of Public Lectures’ Debates Analytics (PLDA), in its ex-post modality. This has meant the analysis, by the twelve participants interviewed in this research, of the conclusions of public lectures’ debates on neuroscience and education. The results show the presence of four neuroedumyths among teachers: The brain needs to be bored to develop; Violence resides in masculine genes; Brain develops almost completely the first three years of life; and There are right-hemisphere students and left-hemisphere students. While neuromyths have been spread among teachers by trainers specialized in education but lacking scientific information about neuroscience, neuroedumyths have been spread among teachers by neuroscientists lacking scientific information on education. Differently to some previous studies which approached this problem as teachers’ errors or ignorance, the results of our study show that the problem is the errors of some teachers’ trainers.
Downloads
References
Abbott, A. (2009). Neuroscience: One hundred years of Rita. Nature 458, 564–567. https://doi.org/10.1038/458564a
Google Scholar CrossrefBellavista, J., Elboj-Saso, C., García Yeste, C., & Villarejo-Carballido, B. (2022). Innovative Methodological Approach to Analyze Innovation and Social Impact. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221083373
Google Scholar CrossrefBruer, J. (1999). The Myth of the First Three Years: A New Understanding of Early Brain Development and Lifelong Learning. The Free Press.
Google Scholar CrossrefCoch, D (2018) Reflections on Neuroscience in Teacher Education. Peabody Journal of Education, 93(3), 309-319. https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2018.1449925
Google Scholar CrossrefDekker, S., Lee, N., Haward-Jones, P., & Jolles, J. (2012). Neuromyths in education: Prevalence and predictors of misconceptions among teachers. Frontiers in Psychology, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00429
Google Scholar CrossrefFerrero, M., Garaizar, P., & Vadillo, MA. (2016). Neuromyths in Education: Prevalence among Spanish Teachers and an Exploration of Cross-Cultural Variation, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00496
Google Scholar CrossrefFlecha, R. (2017). Neurociencia y educación, sin neuroedumitos. Innovamos. Revista de Divulgación Educativa. https://revistainnovamos.com/2017/05/22/neurociencia-y-educacion-sin-neuroedumitos/
Google Scholar CrossrefFlecha, R. (2022). Towards Inclusive Science Communication. FECYT. Spanish Ministry of Science. https://www.fecyt.es/es/publicacion/hacia-una-comunicacion-inclusiva-de-la-ciencia-reflexiones-y-acciones-de-exito
Google Scholar CrossrefFlecha, R., Puigvert, L., & Racionero-Plaza, S. (2023). Achieving student well-being for all: Educational contexts free of violence. NESET report. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2766/463854
Google Scholar CrossrefGadner, H. (2018). “Inteligencias múltiples” no son igual a “Estilos de Aprendizaje”. Metaaccion MAGAZINE, 8(psicología). https://www.metaaccion.com/images/descargas/Articulos-practicos-pdf/practico_67_inteligencias-multiples.pdf
Google Scholar CrossrefGardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books.
Google Scholar CrossrefGarcía López, J., López Fernández, S., & Sánchez Pérez, M. C. (2021). Las Interacciones con el Voluntariado en los Grupos Interactivos y el Éxito Escolar. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 10(1), 29–56. https://doi.org/10.17583/rise.2020.6043
Google Scholar CrossrefGeake, J. G. (2008). Neuromythologies in education. Education and Neuroscience: Evidence, Theory and Practical Application, 50(2), 123–133.
Google Scholar CrossrefHedrick, A., Haden, C., & Ornstein, P. (2009). Elaborative Talk During and After an Event: Conversational Style Influences Children's Memory Reports. Journal of Cognition and Development, 10(3), 188-209, https://doi.org/10.1080/15248370903155841
Google Scholar CrossrefHoward-Jones, P. (2014). Neuroscience and education: myths and messages. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15, 817–824. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3817
Google Scholar CrossrefIm, S-h., Cho J-Y, Dubinsky J.M., & Varma, S. (2018). Taking an educational psychology course improves neuroscience literacy but does not reduce belief in neuromyths. PLOS ONE, 13(2), e0192163. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192163
Google Scholar CrossrefKandel, E. R. (2007). En busca de la memoria: el nacimiento de una nueva ciencia de la mente. Katz Editores.
Google Scholar CrossrefKandel, E. R. (2019). La nueva biología de la mente: qué nos dicen los trastornos cerebrales sobre nosotros mismos. Paidós.
Google Scholar CrossrefKandel, E., Schwartz, J., Jessell, T., Siegelbaum, S., & Hudspeth, A. (2013). Principles of Neural Science. Fifth Edition. Appleton & Lange.
Google Scholar CrossrefKeidel, J., Davis P., Gonzalez-Diaz V., Martin C., & Thierry G. (2013). How Shakespeare tempests the brain: neuroimaging insights. Cortex, 49(4), 913-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2012.03.011
Google Scholar CrossrefLevi-Montalcini, R. (2011). El as en la manga: los dones reservados a la vejez. Editorial Planeta.
Google Scholar CrossrefLópez de Aguileta, G., Torras-Gómez, E., Padrós, M., & Oliver, E. (2021). Dialogic Reconstruction of Memory: A Methodological Contribution Aimed at Social Impact on Youth’s Sexual-Affective Relationships. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 1-9, https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211034596.
Google Scholar CrossrefMcIntosh, R. D., & Ritchie, S. J. (2012). Rose-tinted? The use of coloured filters to treat reading difficulties. In S. Della Sala & M. Anderson (Eds.), Neuroscience in education: The good, the bad and the ugly (pp. 230–243). Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar CrossrefMoreno-Jiménez, E.P., Flor-García, M., Terreros-Roncal, J., et al. (2019). Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is abundant in neurologically healthy subjects and drops sharply in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Medicine, 25, 554–560. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0375-9
Google Scholar CrossrefNielsen, J., Zielinski B., Ferguson M., Lainhart J., & Anderson J (2013). An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging. PLoS ONE, 8(8), e71275. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071275
Google Scholar CrossrefOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2002). Understanding the Brain. Towards a New Learning Science. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/understanding-the-brain_9789264174986-en
Google Scholar CrossrefPuigvert, L., Flecha, R., Racionero-Plaza, S., & Sordé-Martí, T. (2019). Socioneuroscience and its contributions to conscious versus unconscious volition and control. The case of gender violence prevention. AIMS Neuroscience, 6, 204–218. https://doi.org/10.3934/Neuroscience.2019.3.204
Google Scholar CrossrefPuigvert, L., Gelsthorpe, L., Soler-Gallart, M., & Flecha, R. (2019). Girls’ perceptions of boys with violent attitudes and behaviours, and of sexual attraction. Palgrave Communications, 5(56). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0262-5
Google Scholar CrossrefRacionero-Plaza, S., Puigvert, L., Soler-Gallart, M., & Flecha, R. (2022). Contributions of Socioneuroscience to Research on Coerced and Free Sexual-Affective Desire. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 15, 814796. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.814796
Google Scholar CrossrefRamón y Cajal, S. (1917). Recuerdos de mi vida-Historia de mi labor científica [Recollections of my life—The story of my scientific work”]. https://cvc.cervantes.es/ciencia/cajal/cajal_recuerdos/recuerdos/labor_27.htm.
Google Scholar CrossrefRoca-Campos, E., Duque Sanchez, E., Rios-Gonzalez, O., & Ramis-Salas, M. (2021). The Zero Violence Brave Club: A Successful Intervention to Prevent and Address Bullying in Schools. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 855. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.601424
Google Scholar CrossrefRousseau, L. (2021). Interventions to Dispel Neuromyths in Educational Settings—A Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12,719692. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.719692
Google Scholar CrossrefSalceda, M., Vidu, A., Aubert, A., & Roca, E. (2020). Dialogic feminist gatherings: impact of the preventive socialization of gender-based violence on adolescent girls in out-of-home care. Social Sciences, 9(8), 138. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9080138
Google Scholar CrossrefTorrijos-Muelas, M., González-Víllora, S., & Bodoque-Osma, A. R. (2021). The Persistence of Neuromyths in the Educational Settings: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 591923. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591923
Google Scholar CrossrefValls, R., & Kyriakides, L. (2013). The power of interactive groups: how diversity of adults volunteering in classroom groups can promote inclusion and success for children of vulnerable minority ethnic populations. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(1), 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2012.749213
Google Scholar CrossrefYfanti, A., & Doukakis, S. (2021). Debunking the Neuromyth of Learning Style. In P. Vlamos (eds.), GeNeDis 2020. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (vol 1338). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78775-2_17
Google Scholar CrossrefDownloads
Published
Metrics
Almetric
Dimensions
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Sandra Racionero-Plaza, Ramón Flecha, Sara Carbonell, Alfonso Rodríguez-Oramas

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles are published under Creative Commons copyright (CC BY). Authors hold the copyright and retain publishing rights without restrictions, but authors allow anyone to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy articles as the original source is cited.