Inclusive Skill Development for Chemistry Education Programme

Abstract

Chemistry education involves research, theory and practices while studying the process of teaching and learning chemistry content, and so, it belongs to the social sciences. As an established research field, it has a relatively short history, starting in the 1970s. Recently, research has shown that many chemistry education graduates are now working in various organizations and positions other than schools as chemistry teachers. Such organizations include; banking and managerial positions, humanitarian and hospitality positions, as well as communication and entertainment positions, just to mention a few. This reality in the field of Chemistry Education requires that students of Chemistry Education programmes at the tertiary institution level, be adequately guided towards their various career prospects. They need quality training not only in the technical skills required by the teaching profession but also soft skills such as communication skill, emotional intelligence, digital literacy skills, Socio-economic skills, scientific thinking skills, learning skills, writing skills and interpersonal skills among others. These skills are not only imperative to becoming professionals in their future career but to live a commendable life as transformative leaders in their organizations in the future. This study itemizes, defines, describe and states the benefits of inclusive skills and suggests their inclusion into the Curriculum of Chemistry education programme to facilitate students’ performance while in school and increase their employability ratio in the future job market.