Abstract
The bioCEED Survey 2015 is a baseline study of major tertiary-level biology education in Norway. The survey addresses themes such as learning in practice, transferable skills, motivation, laboratory and field learning, didactical approaches specifically relevant to biology education, knowledge needs and experiences of biologists in the workforce. The bioCEED Survey 2015 reports the results from four separate sub-surveys of tertiary-level biology education, mapping the experiences, attitudes and opinions of university students, teaching staff, and student administration and technical staff, as well as biologists in the workforce. The four questionnaires were distributed during the spring of 2015 to the following groups: a) 1771 students (752 respondents); b) 482 teachers (231 respondents); c) 49 administrative and technical staff (31 respondents); and d) 337 biologists (229 respondents). Teachers and students were recruited from nine different universities and university colleges in Norway. Administrative and technical staff were recruited from the University Centre at Svalbard (UNIS) and the Department of Biology at the University of Bergen (BIO). Workplace respondents were recruited from 52 different workplaces in the private and public sectors. The survey includes a combination of items developed by the bioCEED team and items adapted from published surveys. The results are relevant for teachers in tertiary-level biology education, curriculum development, biology students and others interested in biology and higher education training and pedagogy. The results of the survey indicate that students, teachers and administrative and technical staff all perceive leadership appreciation and support of their educational efforts to be low; this is especially significant in regard to the institution leadership level, while peers are perceived to provide support and appreciation across all groups. Students, teachers and the biology employees at workplaces have an overall positive perception about the implementation of workplace practice in biology education, both as a means to develop biology expertise and for students’ career opportunities. Students and teachers feel efficacious in regard to their own competence to learn and teach biology. Students’ reasons for studying biology are primarily fueled by interest in the subject matter itself. The results show that teachers perceive students to lack general academic skills, especially in mathematics and writing. The work was conducted within bioCEED (Centre of Excellence in Biology Education) and is partially funded by the research project PRIME - How implementation of PRactice can IMprove relevance and quality in discipline and professional Educations, funded by the Research Council of Norway.