TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PROBLEMS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF CHEMISTRY IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

This project investigated teachers and students' perceptions of problems related to the effective teaching and learning of chemistry in senior secondary schools. The study examined the levels of perception among teachers and students, the differences in perception between teachers and students, and the influence of gender on effective teaching and learning in chemistry. The research design adopted for this study was a survey research design, and the population consists of senior secondary school science students and teachers in Ojo local Government area of Lagos State.

A total of 300 participants; including 250 students and 50 teachers were selected from five secondary schools using simple random sampling. The research instrument comprised self-developed questionnaires, separately administered to students and teachers. The questionnaires consisted of demographic data sections and statements addressing the formulated hypotheses, ranked using a Likert scale.

Validity and reliability of the instruments were established through supervisor feedback and the test-retest method, respectively. Data collection was conducted in the selected schools, with research assistants guiding participants to respond to the questionnaire statements. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics for demographic data and chi-square analysis for the hypotheses, with a significance level set at 0.05.

Key findings indicate that teachers and students' perception of effective teaching and learning in chemistry significantly impacts the quality of education provided to students. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the challenges and perspectives of both teachers and students in order to enhance chemistry education in senior secondary schools.

This project contributes to the existing body of knowledge on chemistry education and provides insights for educators, policymakers, and curriculum developers to address the identified problems and improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning in chemistry at the senior secondary school level.

Keyword: Teachers and Students’ perception, effective teaching and learning of chemistry, senior secondary schools. 

 

Chemistry has become one of the most important disciplines in the school curriculum; its importance in the general education has gained world-wide recognition. Chemistry as a branch of science that is rational and mathematical, discipline where certain measured and controlled inputs lead to certain predictable outputs (Learning Things, 2014), was developed greatly throughout the 20th century and introduce in the curriculum of both the elementary and secondary education, as part of science courses or as separate discipline (Kasalta & Tzougraki. 2004).

It is worth to emphasize at this juncture that the field of chemistry, and science and technology are related to the economic heart of every highly-developed industrialized and technologically advanced society (Burmeister, Rauch & Eilks, 2012). The benefit of learning and advancing in science and technology can be intrinsic and extrinsic, and such has been identified with chemistry. Teaching and learning of science have significant roles towards technological development in a developing nation since chemistry is embedded in our life and society, economical ecologic and societal influences (Hofstein, Eilks & Bybee, 2011). The performance of students in science based subjects like chemistry is closely related to their theoretical and practical knowledge while some are taught in isolation from the process of discovery or the conceptual applications. This however, depends solely on the subject at various classes and also on particular factors within and without the teaching and learning environment (Felder, Felder & Diet, 2013).

Several studies have looked into chemistry learning achievement at the senior secondary school level over the years. Students’ understanding of concepts such as writing chemical formulae and equations and performing calculations from them, concepts of chemical reaction equilibrium, and mole concepts, among others, was revealed by the findings of these studies (Achor & Ukwuru, 2014; Lati, Supasorn, & Promarak, 2012; Supasorn & Waengchin, 2014). The chemistry was taken as an intricate and complicated subject leading the students to develop a misconception in some concepts such as electrolysis, redox reaction, acid and bases, state of matter, and organic compounds (Johnstone, 2006). However, chemistry is of great importance to recognize the problematic areas and some misconceptions that students may encounter within chemistry concepts and propose the strategies to be adopted to address them.

Students’ perceptions through chemistry subject play roles as determinants for their achievement in this subject. Several research reports have been gathered to discuss this matter. Jimoh (2010) carried out a research on, “perception of difficult topics in chemistry curriculum by students in Nigeria Secondary schools”. In his study, five hundred and sixty SS III chemistry students were randomly selected from 28 senior secondary schools in seven states of the federation and a 20-item questionnaire was administered to respondents. Findings showed that SS 3 chemistry students perceived 13 topics (65%) difficult to comprehend. The study also revealed that students’ gender and school location have no influence on their perception of difficult topics in chemistry curriculum, while school nature influenced perception of chemistry topics. It was recommended that the SSCE chemistry curriculum be reviewed by examination bodies.

Agogo and Onda, (2014) carried out a study on “Identification of students’ perceived difficult concepts in senior secondary school chemistry in Oju L.G.A of Benue state.” In their study, 95 SS II chemistry students were used. The instrument for data collection was the chemistry students’ concept difficulty assessment questionnaire. Four research questions and three hypotheses were raised and formulated. The work was analyzed using percentages and mean scores while the hypotheses were analyzed using chi-Square at 0.05 level of significance. Their findings revealed that students find some topics difficult and there is no significant difference between male and female in their perception of difficult concept in SS II chemistry.

According to Khan and Ali (2012), poor chemistry performance is due to a negative perception toward studying and teaching chemistry, as well as insufficient instructional strategies and teaching aids. Cheung (2009) who conducted the study in Hong Kong, backed up this allegation, claiming that students dislike chemistry because of the traditional teaching methods of chalk and talk, which are often utilized by teachers while answering easy problems on the boards. They stated that their teachers merely prepare them for public exams, in which they are given stuff to memorize. Only a few chances are given to them to conduct experiments in the laboratory. This study therefore investigates teachers and students’ perceptions of problems of effective teaching and learning of chemistry in senior secondary school. 

The performance in chemistry as a core science subject among senior secondary school students is worrisome. The problem was traced to how chemistry as a subject is perceived by the students and the teachers. Perception goes a long way in determining how one will perform in the activity at hand, and in this case, it seems students’ perception towards chemistry is not in good shape. Most students perceive chemistry to be a very difficult subject, just like mathematics, and thereby lose interest, which contributes to their poor performance in the subject. Unfortunately, this negative perception is as a result of some challenges faced in the teaching and learning of the subject. Some of the challenges is inadequate laboratory, poor learning environment, lack of proper instructional materials, attitudes of the students and teachers etc. These problems are definitely the contributing factors that orchestrated the negative perceptions amongst the students and the teachers. Therefore, it is paramount that a research is conducted to unravel the teachers and students perception on the problems of effective teaching and learning of chemistry in senior secondary school.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate teachers and students’ perceptions of problems of effective teaching and learning of chemistry in senior secondary school. 

The study will also specifically examine:

At first, the outcome of this study may solve problem of wrong perception among the students and the teachers as regards the problem of effective teaching and learning of chemistry in senior secondary school. Also, the data obtained in this study would be useful to all the education stake holders in the Ministry of Education in tackling challenges experienced when teaching and learning Chemistry. From the findings, the stakeholders would be able to review the teaching and learning of Chemistry and make necessary adjustments towards enhancing performance in the Chemistry. Chemistry as a subject would widen and open up more chances to student to pursue some of the most competitive careers in the world of science. This study may serve as reference point to other studies and can also be used to educate students at various levels. 

The study is delimited to the following:

Perception: This refers to how students and teachers perceive the chemistry subject. 

Teaching and learning: This refers to the process where information/instruction is disseminated from the teacher, through which the students acquire knowledge and skills.

Students Attitude: This refers to the feeling a student or teacher has toward the subject.

Professional Qualification: This is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a teaching task in a school e.g. Bachelors in Education, Masters in Education etc.

Teacher: Refers to the person employed for the purpose of guiding and directing learning experiences of students in an educational institution.

Gender Difference: This refers to the sexuality of the students e.g. male and female.