Prevalence of educational myths among Ecuadorian teachers

Neuromyths, misconceptions about the brain and learning, persist among educators worldwide and may negatively influence teaching practices. In Latin America, and specifically in Ecuador, empirical evidence on their prevalence among in-service teachers remains scarce.

This study examined the prevalence of neuromyths and instructional misconceptions among Ecuadorian in-service teachers and how these beliefs relate to their general brain knowledge.

A survey was administered to 2193 in-service teachers from Ecuador. It included 17 items on general brain knowledge, 12 neuromyths, and 10 myths about learning and instruction. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to identify demographic factors and other predictors of myth endorsement.

On average, participants answered 59.60% of brain knowledge items correctly. However, they endorsed 61.94% of neuromyths and 60.69% of instructional myths. The most prevalent neuromyths included beliefs in multiple intelligences, enriched environments for preschool brain development, perceptual-motor coordination exercises, and left-/right-brain dominance. Instructional misconceptions such as discovery learning, digital natives, the learning pyramid, motivation-driven learning, and learning styles were also highly endorsed. Interestingly, greater brain knowledge predicted more belief in neuromyths, but less belief in instructional myths.

Despite widespread interest in neuroscience and its perceived relevance for teaching, a large proportion of Ecuadorian in-service teachers continue to endorse misconceptions. These findings reveal significant shortcomings in-service teacher education and underscore the need for explicitly structured professional development that incorporates core instructional theories, educational neuroscience, and targeted strategies to identify and refute common educational misconceptions.