Knowledge of human evolution among the 1th and 2th grade secondary school students in Ljubljana

In Biology, human evolution is a key factor to understanding human life on Earth. It is also an important segment of school curriculum as the occasion to explain when, where and how our species has evolved over time. Pupils first learn about the basics of human evolution in elementary school. Later on, Biology is only a compulsory subject in science-oriented secondary schools. The goal of the diploma thesis paper was to establish how well the pupils of Biotechnical Educational Centre Ljubljana know human evolution. The aim of the research was to verify whether the level of knowledge is linked to a pupils' gender, age, and the educational programme they attend. The survey focused on the pupil's general knowledge of human evolution and any misconceptions they might have of the topic. 296 pupils of the first and second year of the General Upper Secondary School and Veterinary Technical School programme, and the School of Food Processing programme, filled out the survey. The survey showed no particular difference when it came to age of respondents, it did however show that boys had better knowledge of the topic than the girls. Differences were also apparent when it came to the educational programme, as those attending General Upper Secondary School programme showed more thorough knowledge of the topic than their peers enrolled in the Veterinary Technical School and the School of Food Processing programmes