Dimension of Chemical Literacy and its Influence in Chemistry Learning

Abstract

Chemical literacy is an ability that is important for students to have in the current educational era. This study aims to measure the ability of chemical literacy of high school students by using questionnaires and questions through investigation. This research was a qualitative descriptive study with samples engaging 100 students from Surakarta and Boyolali High Schools. This study investigated the achievement of the ability of chemical literacy of high school students in class XI and XII for the material of electrolyte and non-electrolyte solutions. The measured chemical literacy abilities included: a) nominal literacy (recognizing the concept of chemistry); b) functional literacy (defining key concepts); c) conceptual literacy (using chemical understanding to explain the phenomena of everyday life); and d) multidimensional literacy (using the understanding of chemistry to analyze information provided in short articles or other reading sources). The test instruments used were questionnaires, choice questions, and open-ended questions supplemented with interviews to obtain the data on the concept of students’ chemical literacy. The results of the study found that students were able to explain the concept of chemistry at the macroscopic level, but in the submicroscopic level the students’ ability was still low. This showed that students’ chemical literacy skills at the conceptual level and multi-dimensional literacy were still less. The findings of this study can help design learning strategies and teacher readiness in supporting students to develop students’ chemical literacy skills.