Prevalence of educational myths among Ecuadorian teachers

Background: 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.
Objective: 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.
Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusions: 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.