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.
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