Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions that SHS chemistry
students and teachers have about organic chemistry as well as topic difficulties in
organic chemistry. The population for the study comprised of SHS students who
studied elective chemistry and their teachers. Random sampling (lottery) and
purposive sampling methods were used to select 100 students and 10 teachers for the
sample of the study. The research instruments used to collect data for this study were
the organic chemistry perceptions questionnaire for students (OCPQS) and organic
chemistry perceptions questionnaire for teachers (OCPQT). Four research questions
offered the framework for presenting the findings. Descriptive statistics (frequencies
and percentages) were used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that
SHS Students have a fairly positive perception of organic chemistry while the
teachers had a highly positive perception of organic chemistry. Preparation and
chemical reactions of alkenes, preparation and chemical reactions of alkynes,
structure and stability of benzene, reactions of benzene, comparison of reactions of
benzene and alkenes, petroleum, polymers and naming of alkanes and structural
isomerism were perceived by students as difficult to understand. The rest of the SHS
organic chemistry topics (26 out of 34 topics) were perceived as easy to understand by
students. Also, the teachers perceived all the SHS organic chemistry topics as easy to
teach with the exception of reactions of benzene. Polymers and polymerization and
petroleum were listed by both students and teachers as difficult for students to
understand. It was recommended among others that teachers should use varied
methods to teach organic chemistry topics to facilitate easy understanding by students.
Description:
A Thesis in the Department of Science Education, Faculty of
Science Education, Submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment
of the requirement for the award of degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Science Education)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JUNE, 2020