Secondary School Chemistry Research Articles

Factors Affecting Students Academic Achievement in Chemistry: A Case of Obudu Local Government Area

The aim of this study was to find out the factors affecting students academic achievement of secondary school students in chemistry in some selected secondary schools in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State. Four research objectives, questions and hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. The research under took survey design with a population of 1000 students and a sample size of two hundred (200) SS2 Chemistry students. Two of the hypothesis; students attitude and interpersonal relationship were tested using pearson product moment correlation co-efficient analysis. While resource availability and students regularity to class was tested using Independent t-test The four hypothesis were significant; this implies that; students attitude, resource availability, students – teacher inter-personal relationship and students regularity to class influence academic achievement of secondary school chemistry students. It was therefore concluded and recommended that teachers should employ teaching strategies that would enhance the attendance rate of students in their classes. Teachers should build positive relationship with students to enhance learning of chemistry. Both teachers and students should be advised to attend classes regularly, and the school should provide relevant policies that would ensure the attendance of students in classes to enhance academic achievement in chemistry.

Conservation of Energy: Missing Features in Its Nature and Justification and Why They Matter

Misconceptions about energy conservation abound due to the gap between physics and secondary school chemistry. This paper surveys this difference and its relevance to the 1690s–2010s Leibnizian argument that mind-body interaction is impossible due to conservation laws. Justifications for energy conservation are partly empirical, such as Joule’s paddle wheel experiment, and partly theoretical, such as Lagrange’s statement in 1811 that energy is conserved if the potential energy does not depend on time. In 1918 Noether generalized results like Lagrange’s and proved a converse: symmetries imply conservation laws and vice versa. Conservation holds if and only if nature is uniform. The rise of field physics during the 1860s–1920s implied that energy is located in particular places and conservation is primordially local: energy cannot disappear in Cambridge and reappear in Lincoln instantaneously or later; neither can it simply disappear in Cambridge or simply appear in Lincoln. A global conservation law can be inferred in some circumstances. Einstein’s General Relativity, which stimulated Noether’s work, is another source of difficulty for conservation laws. As is too rarely realized, the theory admits conserved quantities due to symmetries of the Lagrangian, like other theories. Indeed General Relativity has more symmetries and hence (at least formally) more conserved energies. An argument akin to Leibniz’s finally gets some force. While the mathematics is too advanced for secondary school, the ideas that conservation is tied to uniformities of nature and that energy is in particular places, are accessible. Improved science teaching would serve the truth and enhance the social credibility of science.

Motivation as a Predictor of Students’ Academic Achievement in Secondary School Chemistry in Oyo State, Nigeria

Academic achievement of Nigerian secondary school students in Chemistry has not been satisfactory to many for nearly a decade now and this is becoming one of the most exigent puzzles facing teachers as well as students which require an urgent solution. Motivation has been recognized as one of the factors that have great impact on academic achievement. Therefore, this study examined the contribution of students' academic motivation in predicting students' academic achievement in Chemistry. The study was carried out in two schools of science (Ipade and Oladipo) in Oyo state. The descriptive survey design was employed for the study. A total number of 150 students which comprised 66 male students and 84 female students were randomly selected from the schools. Data were collected from the participants through the researchers designed questionnaire containing the Motivation Scale (AMS) which consists of 20 items and achievement test in chemistry. The achievement test comprised 20 questions in Chemistry. The data collected were analyzed by correlation and simple linear regression using R software version 3.6.2. The results of the analysis revealed a positive correlation between the motivation and the students' achievement in chemistry, and the students' academic achievement was observed to increase with increase in motivation. It was concluded that high motivation is likely to promote higher academic achievement of the students in Chemistry, while low motivation is also likely to diminish it. Therefore, motivation can be seen as an index for determining the levels of students' achievement in chemistry. This finding should serve as a weapon for every potential chemistry teacher, parents/guardians and students in combating poor academic achievement in Chemistry.

Developing a lesson plan on conventional and green pesticides in chemistry education – a project of participatory action research

The debate on the use of pesticides is very current in the public media when it comes to topics such as organic farming, bee mortality, and the use of glyphosate. The broad range of pesticide applications and their potential environmental impact makes pesticides an interesting topic for science education in general and for chemistry teaching in particular. This is particularly true when conventional pesticide use is contrasted with current chemistry research efforts to develop alternatives based on the ideas of green chemistry. This paper discusses the potential relevance of pesticides for chemistry education in connection with education for sustainable development. It gives a brief outlook on pesticides in science teaching and connects the topic to socio-scientific issue-based chemistry education. A case study which developed a lesson plan for secondary school students is presented here. It defines pesticides, before focusing on the development of green pesticides as potential alternatives to current products. The lesson is focusing learning about chemistry rather than learning of chemistry in the means that the lesson introduces quite young chemistry learners (age range 15–17) to ideas of green and sustainable chemistry and how green alternatives in chemistry can be assessed and compared to traditional alternatives. Video vignettes of a scientist are used to introduce the topic to students. Finally, both glyphosate as a conventional, industrial pesticide and orange oil as an example of a green pesticide are compared using spider chart diagrams. The lesson plan was cyclically designed by a group of ten chemistry teachers using participatory action research. It was piloted with the help of secondary school chemistry student teachers and then tested in five German secondary school classes (grades 10/11). The use of the spider charts was regarded as especially helpful by the learners, most of whom felt that they had been able to understand the controversy surrounding pesticides.

高等学校化学における実社会・実生活との関連を重視した指導と生徒の態度の変容に関する研究:成績水準との関連に着目して

高等学校化学における実社会・実生活との関連を重視した指導と生徒の態度の変容に関する研究:成績水準との関連に着目して

Challenges of Effective Teaching of Chemistry in Secondary Schools of Nepal

Challenges of Effective Teaching of Chemistry in Secondary Schools of Nepal

Availability of Critical Thinking Skills in Chemistry Textbooks and Textbooks of Activities and Practical Experiments of Secondary Schools, Yemen

The research aimed to identify to what extent critical thinking skills are available in chemistry textbooks and textbooks of activities and practical experiments of secondary schools in Yemen. To achieve this objective, a list of critical thinking skills, which consisted of (29) indicators, was developed. They were distributed to five main skills: (5) inference skills, (6) identifying assumptions skills, (6) evaluating discussion skills, (7) interpretation skills, and deduction skills. After checking the validating and reliability of the list, the content analysis of textbooks was conducted to ascertain whether the indicators were explicitly or implicitly unavailable. Major results revealed that critical thinking skills were available in secondary school chemistry textbooks of a medium degree of (%58.3), whereas they were available in the textbooks of activities with a lower degree of (%28).
 Keywords: critical thinking skills, chemistry textbooks, activities and practical experiment textbooks.

Integrating Sustainable Development Requirements into the Secondary Stage Chemistry Curriculum in Egypt

Abstract The problem of the current research lies in the need to integrate some requirements of the sustainable development (SD) in secondary school chemistry curriculum. The research specifically seeks to answer the following question: What “requirements of sustainable development” should be taught in the secondary school chemistry curriculum in Egypt? To that end, the researcher analyzed the content of chemistry curricula in the three grades of secondary education in Egypt for the school year 2017–2018, and prepared a list of 57 SD requirements. It should be noted that fifteen requirements of sustainable development at the second-grade secondary stage were distributed into five units; the third unit included one requirement; the fourth unit comprised four requirements; and the fifth unit – one requirement. Regarding curriculum at the third-grade secondary stage, 17 requirements of sustainable development were integrated and distributed along five units.

Underutilization of instructional materials for teaching and learning of Chemistry in Nigerian secondary schools: Ohafia Education Zone, Abia State’s Example.

This study investigated the factors associated with underutilization of instructional materials for teaching and learning of Chemistry in Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The study population comprised 86 Chemistry teachers and 1,180 Senior Secondary 2 (SS2) Chemistry students including those with special needs in the 86 public secondary schools in Ohafia Education Zone, Abia State in southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The sample size was 456 respondents of 57 Chemistry teachers and 399 SS 2 Chemistry students selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. The data collection was by questionnaire and Cronbach Alpha was applied in computing the reliability estimate of 0.97. The findings indicated that the inability of teachers to improvise and their lack of manipulative skills, among others, are factors militating against the utilization of instructional materials. The researchers recommended the necessity for adequate provision of instructional materials in the schools and for teachers to ensure that these materials are effectively utilized. Students with special needs should be catered for based on their individualized education program as stipulated by the National Policy on Education in inclusive settings.

Science Process Skills Acquired by Senior Secondary School Chemistry Students in Quantitative Analysis in Enugu Education Zone, Nigeria

Science Process Skills Acquired by Senior Secondary School Chemistry Students in Quantitative Analysis in Enugu Education Zone, Nigeria

Salient language features in explanation texts that students encounter in secondary school chemistry textbooks

This study examines language features that students are likely to encounter in chemistry textbooks in EMI classrooms. In consultation with teachers, the presentation of science knowledge was examined in three chemistry textbooks commonly used in Hong Kong secondary English Medium Instruction (EMI) classrooms. Student textbooks were collected from eight Grade 10–12 chemistry classrooms. Adopting a functional linguistic approach (e.g., Veel’s (1997) framework of text taxonomy), analyses showed that explanation is the most common text type in the three chemistry textbooks, and the five subtypes of explanations represented in the textbooks are causal (40%), factorial (24%), sequential (15%), consequential (13%) and theoretical (8%). The distribution of these different types of explanation texts and their features were examined to reveal the kind of language that students in EMI classrooms are likely to encounter when learning chemistry. The results show that explanation texts served as a primary linguistic reservoir for EMI students to learn the language of science. The analysis of the language features of these texts could be used to inform future pedagogies aiming at making these textbooks more accessible to students learning in English and facilitating both their science learning and control of scientific English.

Integrating Socio-Critical and Problem Oriented Approach to Assess Learner Performance in Acids and Bases in Secondary School Chemistry

The main purpose of this study was to explore the effect of integrating socio-critical and problem oriented approach on performance of grade 11 learners in acids and bases. It also investigated the learner’s attitudes towards chemistry and the benefits and challenges faced by teachers in contextualizing the teaching and learning of chemistry. The design of this study was mixed method design involving quantitative and qualitative research methods together (Creswell, 2008; Gray, 2009). The study was conducted in Luanshya district of the Copperbelt Province in Zambia at three selected senior secondary schools (using rotary). These schools are Luanshya Central Secondary School. Luanshya Girls Secondary School and Mpelembe Secondary school. The sample consisted of all 16 chemistry teachers from the selected schools and 98 learners from two intact grade 11 classes randomly selected from two core schools of the three schools involved. These are Luanshya Central Secondary School and Mpelembe Secondary School. A non-randomised quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test experimental and control group counterbalanced was used. Chemistry achievement test and a five likert scale chemistry attitude questionnaire was used for quantitative data collection. Qualitative data was collected using audio recorded structured interviews. The experimental group was taught using integrating socio-critical and problem oriented approach while the control group was taught using conventional methods (discussion) method. An independent t-test at alpha 0.5 was conducted to analyse the results of pre-test and post-test. The significant difference in post-test was p=0.003 with mean score difference of 39.7 at t-value of 8.542. Results from the chemistry attitude test revealed that learners had positive attitudes towards chemistry having learner using socio-critical and problem oriented approach. Also qualitative data from interviews was analysed using content analysis technique on excel windows 7. The results showed that teacher’s challenges ranged from topic difficulty to lack of apparatus to use in lessons. Therefore, integrating socio-critical and problem oriented approach in the teaching of acids and bases at secondary school had a positive effect on learner performance. Both groups showed a significant difference with socio-critical and problem oriented approach than with conventional method. Keywords: socio-critical and problem oriented approach, performance, attitudes, conventional method DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/11-23-08 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

Creativity Level in Chemistry Education by Gender Among Secondary School Students in Kenya

Education is the most critical ingredient in a country’s development process in the social, economic and political realms. Kenya in its vision 2030 hopes to be transformed into a newly industrialised, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment by the year 2030.To realise this vision, the country needs to develop through its education system, manpower that is trained to think creatively. The role of Chemistry in the development of the scientific base of a country cannot be over emphasized and Kenya is no exception. Kenya’s secondary school Chemistry, Physics and Biology syllabi recommend the acquisition of creative skills by students. Few studies have been carried out in Kenya with regard to scientific creativity in secondary schools. Studies in Physics and Biology have shown that the level of scientific creativity is low and is influenced by such factors as gender and knowledge. It is not clear whether the low levels on scientific creativity found in Biology and Physics also apply to Chemistry hence there is need to determine the level of scientific creativity in Chemistry and factors influencing the level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the level of scientific creativity in Chemistry education in Kenya. The study went ahead to find out whether there are gender differences in scientific creativity in chemistry as a whole and in the different aspects of scientific creativity namely; sensitivity to a problem, flexibility, recognition of relationships and planning for investigation. The study involved ex-post facto research with causal-comparative and correlational designs. The population of the study was all Form Three students in National Secondary Schools in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties and all Form Three students in District Secondary Schools in Muranga and Kajiado Counties in Kenya. A sample of 16 schools (4 Boys’ and 4 Girls’ National schools and 4 Boys’ and 4 Girls’ District schools) were involved in this study. National schools were selected through random sampling, while the County schools selection were through purposive random sampling. Participating Form Three stream (class) in the schools were selected through stratified random sampling. A total of 672 students, (275 boys and 397 girls) were involved in the study. Data were collected using the Chemistry Scientific Creativity Test (CSCT) instrument. Quantitative data from CSCQ was analysed using t-test. Chi-square was used to test for the relation between the two variables; gender and scientific creativity in Chemistry. Tests of significance were done at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of this study indicated that the level of scientific creativity in chemistry education is low. The findings further indicated that the level of scientific creativity in Chemistry was not gender dependent. Keywords: Chemistry, Science, Creativity, Gender DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-20-07 Publication date :July 31 st 2019

Teacher Variables and School Location as Predictors of Chemistry Teachers’ Awareness of Ethno Science Practices

Innovative researches and findings of science educators and scholars on the effectiveness of ethno science based instructional model and approach remains unproductive in the field of chemistry education because of the continuous ignorance and neglect of ethno scientific practices by chemistry instructors. This neglect which could possibly be as a result of a lack or, inadequate awareness has stalled moves for contextualized system of chemistry education for more meaningful learning and effective teaching. In view of this, this study sought to ascertain secondary school chemistry teachers’ level of awareness of ethno science practices and the predictive value of teacher variables and school location. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Data were collected from a sample of 150 chemistry teachers drawn from rural and urban secondary schools in Akinyele, Ido and Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo state. The instruments used were validated and each reliability tested; Chemistry Teachers’ Questionnaire on Awareness of Ethno Science Practices (r=0.75) and Chemistry Teachers’ Questionnaire on Value for Culture (r=0.95). Four research questions tested at 0.05 and 0.01 level of significance using Analysis of Variance ANOVA; which guided this study were answered using descriptive statistics of (mean and standard deviation), Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression. The study revealed that chemistry teachers’ awareness of ethno science was below expectation (x̅=60.34). The independent variables had significant composite contribution on awareness of ethno science (23.9%). Gender and School location both had no significant relative contribution on awareness while, Value for culture (B=0.128;t=3.166;p<0.05) and Experience (B=5.490;t=3.551;p<0.05) both had significant relative contribution on awareness. Gender had no significant relationship with awareness while, Value for culture (r=0.811;p<0.01), Experience (r=0.242;p<0.01) and School location (r=0.360;p<0.01) had significant relationship with awareness. Following these findings, it was recommended that there is need to equip chemistry teachers with indigenous knowledge of the people in the area where they teach through training and re-training. The need for government and educational research institute to encourage research on profiling of ethno science practices for integration in science classroom was also suggested. Also suggested, is the need for chemistry teachers to be given the necessary support and opportunity to formally link culture with western science in classroom instruction.

Use of Concept Maps to Assess Secondary School Chemistry Investigative Practical Work

This paper presents simple ways in which concept maps can be used to assess meaningful learning in chemistry practical work for secondary school learners. The study was carried out using design research based study materials developed to facilitate secondary school investigative practical work in chemistry. The concept maps were used to assess learners understanding of concepts and skills learnt during the laboratory practical work. Chemistry learners at Form One level of secondary school in Kenya were involved in laboratory practical work using design based research materials for learner investigative practical work. After the practical sessions, an evaluation of students’ skill and concept understanding was done by use of two separate concept maps. The first concept map was to assist the learner articulate the understanding of concepts acquired during the lessons while the second concept map guided the learner to demonstrate the basic process skills acquired. A total of sixty (60) concept maps were analyzed. The results obtained indicated positive learner’s concept understanding as well as the effectiveness of the instructional materials in used. The learners were of the view that the concept maps helped them identify connections between learnt concepts. Keywords: Concept mapping, practical work assessment, chemistry assessment, investigative practical DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-18-19 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

Effectiveness of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Teaching Strategy on Students’ Performance in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

The Study Examined Qualitative Aspect Of “O” Level West African Secondary School Certificate Practical Chemistry Syllabus And Identified Reaction Of Metals With Water As One Of The Concepts That Chemistry Teachers Avoid To Teach Due To Either Unavailability Of Chemical Regents Or Lack Of Teachers’ Competence To Handle The Topic. The Study Therefore Examined The Effectiveness Of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Leaving (POGIL) Strategy On Students’ Performance In Chemistry In Secondary Schools In Ondo State, Nigeria. A Pretest, Posttest Control Group Design Was Adopted With POGIL Being the treatment and lecture method as the control group. A total of 60 Senior Secondary School chemistry students (SSS 3) were randomly selected from Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State Nigeria to constitute the study sample. Two intact classes comprising 33 students for POGIL group and 27 students for the lecture method group were taught separately in their respective schools. A 1 item instrument tagged Practical Chemistry Achievement Test (CAAT) with reliability co-efficient of r=0.78, p<0.05 was used to collect data. The results showed that POGIL was more effective (=12.63) than lecture method (=10.84), t=2.97, p<0.05. The study concluded that POGIL strategy is an effective method of teaching practical chemistry concepts in general and the qualitative aspect of practical chemistry in particular.

Effectiveness of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Teaching Strategy on Students’ Performance in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

The Study Examined Qualitative Aspect Of “O” Level West African Secondary School Certificate Practical Chemistry Syllabus And Identified Reaction Of Metals With Water As One Of The Concepts That Chemistry Teachers Avoid To Teach Due To Either Unavailability Of Chemical Regents Or Lack Of Teachers’ Competence To Handle The Topic. The Study Therefore Examined The Effectiveness Of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Leaving (POGIL) Strategy On Students’ Performance In Chemistry In Secondary Schools In Ondo State, Nigeria. A Pretest, Posttest Control Group Design Was Adopted With POGIL Being the treatment and lecture method as the control group. A total of 60 Senior Secondary School chemistry students (SSS 3) were randomly selected from Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State Nigeria to constitute the study sample. Two intact classes comprising 33 students for POGIL group and 27 students for the lecture method group were taught separately in their respective schools. A 1 item instrument tagged Practical Chemistry Achievement Test (CAAT) with reliability co-efficient of r=0.78, p<0.05 was used to collect data. The results showed that POGIL was more effective (=12.63) than lecture method (=10.84), t=2.97, p<0.05. The study concluded that POGIL strategy is an effective method of teaching practical chemistry concepts in general and the qualitative aspect of practical chemistry in particular.

STEM Activities in Determining Stoichiometric Mole Ratios for Secondary-School Chemistry Teaching

This article provides teachers with a guideline on how to create a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) hands-on environment and prepare a small lab kit for determining stoichiometric mole ratios of the reaction between hydrogen gas and oxygen gas for secondary-school students. This guideline will provide teachers with a low-cost, simple and rapid workstation allowing and encouraging small groups of students to gain hands-on experience. The small lab kit is developed based on the principle of green chemistry resulting in less chemical usage, less time consumption and less waste production. This article also provides related STEM activities to improve the engagements, aspirations and attitudes of students toward science and technology. These activities provide students with a chance to explore the stoichiometric mole ratio concepts and challenge them toward STEM.

Secondary school students’ attitudes to practical work in biology, chemistry and physics in England

ABSTRACTBackground: In England, practical work is a major part of secondary school science and yet little research has examined students’ attitudes specifically to practical work.Purpose: To examine students’ attitudes to practical work in biology chemistry and physics in secondary schools in England.Sample: The study involved 607 students from Year 7 to Year 10 (aged 11–15) drawn from three state-maintained secondary schools in England. The schools were, broadly speaking, representative of schools in England in terms of academic measures such as GCSE outcomes, value-added performance and socio-economic area.Design and methods: The research considered students’ attitudes in terms of an established analytical framework incorporating the affective, behavioural and cognitive (ABC) domains and used a mixed methods approach involving questionnaires, lesson observations, and focus group discussions.Results: Whilst secondary students’ attitudes to practical work were, generally speaking, positive they were not constant and homogenous but change over time. The affective value of practical work was found to vary by subject although in all three sciences this value decreased, albeit at different rates, as students approached their General Certificate in Secondary Education examinations (GCSE) taken at age 16.Conclusion: The affective value of practical work needs to be considered on a subject by subject basis, rather than, as is often the case currently in school, in terms of a generic attitude to science practical work. Furthermore, the affective value of practical work can be maximised by using more at the start of secondary education (Key Stage 3 – ages 11–14) with a gradual, subject-specific, reduction as students approach their summative public examinations (age 16) when their preference for non-practical, exam orientated, teaching increases.

The needs for successful chemistry teaching in diverse classes: teachers' beliefs and practices

The aim of this case-study was to understand how chemistry teachers experience their work in diverse classes where the needs of differentiated teaching practices are constantly growing. The deeper intention was to perceive new information in order to develop supportive methods that could better correspond to teachers' reality. Eight voluntary Finnish secondary school chemistry teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Four categorial distinctions for successful chemistry teaching were found according to their beliefs: 1) to have more support and resources, 2) to be able to recognize students' problems, 3) to use supportive materials and methods, and 4) to connect theory and practice with inspiring and meaningful activities. This study presents new insights about teachers' beliefs of diversity and what is needed for successful chemistry teaching. Directions for further research and practices are also suggested.