A Comparison of Teachers’ and Students’ Rankings of Practical Work Objectives in ’A’ Level Chemistry.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to compare teachers ’ and students ’ rankings (in order of importance) of A Level Chemistry practical work objectives and also determine whether the perceptions were related to some chosen educational variables. Teachers' (n=39) and students’ (n=I07) views on the importance of chemistry practical work objectives were obtained through questionnaires. The results showed that teachers and students generally disagreed on the order of importance of A Level Chemistry’practical work objectives. Correlational analysis of the responses revealed that teacher perception of the importance ofpractical work objectives is not related to the variables, teacher gender, qualification, teaching load, class size, choice of teaching method, availability of apparatus and chemicals and laboratory> assistance. Student perceptions are also not related to gender factors and A Level subject combination. It is recommended that teachers lake cognisance of student views when planning for chemistry instruction.