Microbes: the good, the bad and the ugly. How society perceives them
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Knowledge, Values and Practices (the KVP model) validates
peoples’ conceptions and will be presented here within the
educational system framework. The influences of scientists, the
media, actors of the educational system and textbook authors on
the school external didactic transposition (EDT) will be
addressed. Particular emphasis will be given to pupils’
conceptions of microorganisms and how textbooks address these
issues. It is well documented that eliciting what children already
know and understand scientific concepts is important for
achieving effective and significant learning. Examples of
children’s conceptions about microorganisms before and after
their first lessons on the subject will be shown. Children’s
anthropomorphic ideas are very present, attributing human
qualities to, for example, whether microorganisms are well- or
evil-intentioned, can be assessed by children’s drawings and
using terms such as ‘good’, ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’. Textbooks
reinforcing the ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’ views are often conveyed within
the biomedical model of health. Therefore, the ‘good’ view of
microorganisms (e.g., delicious mushrooms, cheese and yogurt
producers, soil and wastewater bioremediation…) is missing in
the external didactic transposition, which is the result of an
absence of the non-medical scientists’ influence in the education
system. Finally, opportunities must be created for scientists,
particularly in the non-biomedical field, to communicate with the
education system and the general public, to emphasize the
positive views of microorganisms.
