Changes in understanding of natural selection from upper secondary school to master’s level in biology education in Norway: some misconceptions decrease while others prevail

Understanding natural selection is fundamental for biology and societal challenges regarding conservation of nature and biodiversity. We have investigated how the overall understanding of natural selection, as well as specific misconceptions, develop with increasing educational level in biology (upper secondary schools, first-year university students, and master’s level) in Norway. The questionnaire Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) was translated to Norwegian and answered by a total of 201 participants. Understanding of natural selection increased with educational level, with a significant difference between upper secondary school and both groups of university students in biology. Misconceptions were found at all educational levels investigated, but some were rare in all populations (for instance essentialism). Many misconceptions were more frequent, and while some decreased markedly from upper secondary school to university (e.g. interpreting ‘fitness’ as the strongest or best fighter), others remained frequent, even among students at master level in biology (especially teleological misconceptions, that organisms and even mutations have intentions or goals with evolutionary changes). We identified explicit targeting of some of the rare misconceptions in Norwegian school textbooks in natural science and biology, and vague language that could be misunderstood for some of the more frequent misconceptions.