In this paper we present the development and validation a comprehensive questionnaire to assess college students’ knowledge about modern genetics and genomics, their belief in genetic determinism, and their attitudes towards applications of modern genetics and genomic-based technologies. Written in everyday language with minimal jargon, the Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics (PUGGS) questionnaire is intended for use in research on science education and public understanding of science, as a means to investigate relationships between knowledge, determinism and attitudes about modern genetics, which are to date little understood. We developed a set of core ideas and initial items from reviewing the scientific literature on genetics and previous studies on public and student knowledge and attitudes about genetics. Seventeen international experts from different fields (e.g., genetics, education, philosophy of science) reviewed the initial items and their feedback was used to revise the questionnaire. We validated the questionnaire in two pilot tests with samples of university freshmen students. The final questionnaire contains 45 items, including both multiple choice and Likert scale response formats. Cronbach alpha showed good reliability for each section of the questionnaire. In conclusion, the PUGGS questionnaire is a reliable tool for investigating public understanding and attitudes towards modern genetics and genomic-based technologies.

Genetic determinism can be described as the attribution of the formation of traits to genes, where genes are ascribed more causal power than what scientific consensus suggests. Belief in genetic determinism is an educational problem because it contradicts scientific knowledge, and is a societal problem because it has the potential to foster intolerant attitudes such as racism and prejudice against sexual orientation. In this article, we begin by investigating the very nature of belief in genetic determinism. Then, we investigate whether knowledge of genetics and genomics is associated with beliefs in genetic determinism. Finally, we explore the extent to which social factors such as gender, education, and religiosity are associated with genetic determinism. Methodologically, we gathered and analyzed data on beliefs in genetic determinism, knowledge of genetics and genomics, and social variables using the BPublic Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics^(PUGGS) instrument. Our analyses of PUGGS responses from a sample of Brazilian university freshmen undergraduates indicated that (1) belief in genetic determinism was best characterized as a construct built up by two dimensions or belief systems: beliefs concerning social traits and beliefs concerning biological traits; (2) levels of belief in genetic determination of social traits were low, which contradicts prior work; (3) associations between knowledge of genetics and genomics and levels of belief in genetic determinism were low; and (4) social factors such as age and religiosity had stronger associations with beliefs in genetic determinism than Sci & Educ (2017) 26:1223-1259 https://doi

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<p class="ResumoeAbstract">Neste artigo fazemos um estudo teórico de análise da Lei nº 13.415, de 16 de fevereiro de 2017, que legisla sobre a Política de Fomento à Implementação de Escolas de Ensino Médio em Tempo Integral, mais conhecida como a Reforma do Novo Ensino Médio. Apresentamos, aqui, os artigos da medida que mais impactaram no Ensino Médio: o aumento da carga horária anual de 800h para 1400h; a escolha dos estudantes por itinerários formativos específicos; a inserção de profissionais com “notório saber” e as regras de financiamento da educação pública. Argumentamos, de acordo com a Pedagogia Histórico-Crítica como essas mudanças afetam a educação e, particularmente, o Ensino de Ciências, negativamente - na perspectiva da formação integral -, acentuando a diferença entre escolas públicas e particulares e prejudicando, principalmente, os filhos e filhas da classe trabalhadora do nosso país, que dependem de um ensino público, gratuito e socialmente referenciado.</p>