I have found that the average college student already, and perhaps unknowingly, has some idea of how they believe the world works. They know, for example, that when they step on the gas pedal of their car the car goes forward and they feel pressed against the back of their seat until they reach their constant cruising speed. However, until challenged to truly investigate the situations, most are unaware that this motion is, in formulation, identical to the motion of a rock dropped from a tall building. And even when the formulation is developed, breaking down this conceptual barrier is still difficult.
Relativism is even more strongly apparent in the teaching of astronomy.
Not only do the students have their concepts about how the world around them works, most have never really had or taken the opportunity to observe the heavens long enough to think about our place relative to everything else. They see the moon rise and set, and even change phases, but are unclear as to why the phases change, or even that there is a real pattern to the phases. Many have also had at least some science in their high school years and so know about the age of dinosaurs and perhaps even evolution, but have no mechanism to reconcile these to views. Again, trying to break through these barriers is difficult. They are then forced to challenge those ideas or reconcile them in some way, with the new material presented to them in class.