Abstract
During the last three decades, chemical education in Slovenia has developed mainly in two chemistry education research groups, one located at the University of Ljubljana and the other at the University of Maribor. The present study aims to identify research papers in the field of chemical education published between 1991 and 2019 through a database survey. From a total of 273 identified research papers in the field of chemical education, an analysis of the papers published in respected international and Slovenian journals and monographs revealed four main research fields: (1) Submicrorepresentations, Models and Animations, (2) Chemistry Teacher Education, (3) Experimental Work, and (4) Conceptions of Basic Chemical Concepts. For further analysis, only papers published in English in respected peer-reviewed international journals were used (N = 41). Based on citations in Web of Science or Scopus, it seems that papers published in the first field have the greatest impact on the international research community. Some research monographs published in Slovenian aim specifically at contributing to bridging the gap between chemical education research and classroom practice, but further actions are necessary to achieve this goal in the future.
Highlights
In the 28 years of Slovenian independence, chemical education research has developed rapidly
In the Slovenian context, there is the journal Kemija v šoli in družbi (Chemistry in School and Society), which is popular in school, but not as present as it should be in the chemical education research community
The results reveal quite a few similarities between the analysed textbooks, but some differences could be detected when comparing the type of images in the educational material
Summary
In the 28 years of Slovenian independence, chemical education research has developed rapidly. Cooperation between members of research groups can lead to progress in a specific field of research, including in chemical education research. This kind of cooperation is, quite weak in Slovenia. There are two major research groups in these fields, one at the University of Ljubljana and one at the University of Maribor. In the Slovenian context, there is the journal Kemija v šoli in družbi (Chemistry in School and Society), which is popular in school, but not as present as it should be in the chemical education research community. Similar problems can be identified with the journal Naravoslovna solnica (The Natural Science Saltcellar), which is not relevant for chemistry teachers, but rather for teachers of earlier science at the preschool and primary school level
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