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Teaching organic chemistry at the high school: Which factor predicts most of the difficulties?

Isaiah Atewini Asaki 1 * ,
Kenneth Adu-Gyamfi 1
1 University of Cape Coast, Department of Science Education, GHANA* Corresponding Author
Educational Point, 2(1), 2025, e117, https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16251
Publication date: Apr 04, 2025
Research Article
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ABSTRACT

Literature reports, chemistry teachers in Ghanaian high schools struggle conceptually in teaching organic chemistry. Pre-tertiary exposure, professional collaboration, professional competence, and tertiary exposure have been identified as the factors accounting for these challenges. This research studied the factor(s) that predict most of the teachers’ conceptual difficulties in teaching organic chemistry in high school. The findings can help researchers, Ministry of Education (MOE), Ghana Education Service (GES), and Teacher Education provide in-service teachers with necessary intervention or professional development and materials to improve organic chemistry teaching and learning. In a cross-sectional survey, 71 teachers were randomly sampled from 114 chemistry teachers teaching organic chemistry at the high school for the study. Data collected with tests and questionnaires were organised quantitatively and analysed using means, standard deviation and multiple regression. It came to bare that teachers have difficulties in organic chemistry and that the factors accounting for these difficulties are pre-tertiary exposure, tertiary exposure, professional collaboration and professional competence and the most predictive factor was tertiary exposure. Pre-tertiary exposure involves experiences and knowledge acquired before tertiary education, while tertiary exposure involves experiences and knowledge acquired during tertiary education. Professional collaboration involves continuous engagement in professional groups, sharing experiences, and knowledge, while professional competence involves using teaching resources and acquiring in-service training. The recommendation is for chemistry educators and researchers to develop innovative instructional strategies for effective teaching of organic chemistry at the tertiary level.

KEYWORDS

conceptual difficulties organic chemistry partial understanding with misconceptions prediction teachers

CITATION (APA)

Asaki, I. A., & Adu-Gyamfi, K. (2025). Teaching organic chemistry at the high school: Which factor predicts most of the difficulties?. Educational Point, 2(1), e117. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16251
Harvard
Asaki, I. A., and Adu-Gyamfi, K. (2025). Teaching organic chemistry at the high school: Which factor predicts most of the difficulties?. Educational Point, 2(1), e117. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16251
Vancouver
Asaki IA, Adu-Gyamfi K. Teaching organic chemistry at the high school: Which factor predicts most of the difficulties?. Educational Point. 2025;2(1):e117. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16251
AMA
Asaki IA, Adu-Gyamfi K. Teaching organic chemistry at the high school: Which factor predicts most of the difficulties?. Educational Point. 2025;2(1), e117. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16251
Chicago
Asaki, Isaiah Atewini, and Kenneth Adu-Gyamfi. "Teaching organic chemistry at the high school: Which factor predicts most of the difficulties?". Educational Point 2025 2 no. 1 (2025): e117. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16251
MLA
Asaki, Isaiah Atewini et al. "Teaching organic chemistry at the high school: Which factor predicts most of the difficulties?". Educational Point, vol. 2, no. 1, 2025, e117. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16251

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