Description:
In this paper, results of an investigation about first-grade high-school students’ (with ages between 15 and 16 years)prior ideas concerning Earth planet movement are presented. A qualitative focus was used, with semi-structured interviews. It was found that students from this educational level have regarding this topic explanatory and descriptive ideas about this topic, that are different from those scientifically accepted. In addition, some teleological characteristics were detected in their explanations. We conclude that students in this educational level have ideas thatsupposedly should have been overcome. This situation obliges teachers to explore and analyze students’ prior ideas, which would constitute the starting point in selection or design of appropriate teaching strategies, in order to bring those ideas closer to those scientifically accepted schemas.