Myths or Facts: Prevalence, and Predictors of Neuromyths among Turkish Teachers

Abstract

Neuromyth is a concept used for misconceptions regarding the brain and its relation to learning. Identifying the prevalence of neuromyths is seen as the first step of dispelling them. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and predictors of neuromyths among teachers in Turkey. The educational neuromyths survey, which contains 19 general brain knowledge statements and 21 neuromyth statements, was conducted on 730 primary and secondary school teachers during the 2020-2021 educational year's spring semester. The findings showed that the most prevalent myths among teachers were learning styles, multiple intelligences, and an enriched environment. Hemispheric dominance, Mozart effect, BrainGYM, critical periods, fatty acids, learning while sleep, 10 % myths were believed more than 50% of teachers. The predictor analyses revealed that gender, teaching experience, reading popular science publications did not significantly predict the number of endorsed myths. Significant predictors were general brain knowledge, reading peer-reviewed journals, and taking neuroscience education. At the end of the study, recommendations for further research and practice are presented.