Ideas, emociones y argumentos del profesorado en formación acerca del virus del Ébola

Abstract

The results of a teaching unit about the Ebola virus, developed in initial training of Primary teachers, are discussed in here. The sequence takes place in the same year as the Ebola outbreak in Africa, and the appearance of the virus in Spain. The unit requires application of knowledge to understand and assess the transmission processes of Ebola, and to make supported decisions on preventive measures to be implemented in real-life contexts.The research questions that guide this paper are: 1) What emotions and ideas do future teachers have the Ebola virus? 2) What social factors can be identified in the decision-making argumentation process focusing the prevention of this virus?Results show that the social alarm generated by Ebola has contributed to the increase of the disease’s social stigma, that up until recently solely affected the African continent. Addressing health problems in real life contexts is necessary in order to improve future teachers’ literacy in health issues, as well as to provide a way of overcoming disease stigma.