Student teachers’ syntheses of knowledge on biodiversity loss from relevant, irrelevant and fake sources
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21589763 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mirva Heikkilä (0000-0002-6873-3943, University of Turku, corresponding author), Anni Vidbäck (0009-0001-8935-0810, University of Turku), Mirjamaija Mikkilä-Erdmann (0000-0003-1569-794X, University of Turku), Kasperi Rautio (0009-0008-4619-6789, University of Turku), Norbert Erdmann (0000-0001-9475-1785, University of Turku) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Science Education, Part B (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2154-8455 • E-ISSN: 2154-8463 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09500693.2026.2617917 |
| OpenAlex | W7136064386 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
Scientific literacy is becoming increasingly important for teachers in the current knowledge landscape, where fake information is gaining ground. However, little is known about how fake content becomes part of ordinary knowledge in science education. This study investigated how Finnish student teachers recognised fake content on the topic of biodiversity loss in an online learning environment and how they used it. Seventy-one first-semester primary student teachers at a Finnish university were given the task of writing a synthesis using online sources and evaluating those sources. The learning environment included relevant, irrelevant and fake texts. The analysis used quantification, content analysis and discourse analysis. The findings showed that nearly half of the participants used fake content in their synthesis, while they also succeeded in synthesising relevant texts. We focused on the use of fake content and identified three discourses referring to it: (1) fake as fact, (2) fake as second opinion and (3) fake as suspicious. The study’s implications regard improving curriculum development and programme design in teacher education
Biodiversity · Concept learning · Environmental education · Knowledge level · Science education · Traditional knowledge · Animal and Plant Science Education · Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education · Environmental Education and Sustainability
Resolv
The Role of Epistemic Beliefs in the Comprehension of Multiple Expository Texts
How literacy in its fundamental sense is central to scientific literacy
Dimensions of science capital
Improving Students' Ability to Identify and Use Source Information
Transformation toward sustainability in Finnish teacher education policy
Pre-service teachers evaluating online texts about learning styles
In search of healthy policy ecologies for education in relation to sustainability
Information search behavior in fragile and conflict-affected learning contexts
Pseudoscientific beliefs and media literacy
The development of early scientific literacy gaps in kindergarten children
How do source evaluation criteria develop? A microgenetic study of growth of epistemic ideals
Investigating elementary school students’ text-based argumentation with multiple online information resources
Science capital
Fake News and The Economy of Emotions
Fake News
Supporting university students’ argumentative source-based writing
Biodiversity and species extinction
How is biodiversity understood in compulsory education textbooks? A lexicographic analysis of teaching programs in the French-speaking part of Switzerland
Scientists’ warnings and the need to reimagine, recreate, and restore environmental education
The integration of biodiversity education in the initial education of primary school teachers
Exploring the value of a BioBlitz as a biodiversity education tool in a post-secondary environment
Source Evaluation, Comprehension, and Learning in Internet Science Inquiry Tasks
Science literacy in the twenty-first century
Attention science educators, we have a problem
Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |