Assessment of Difficult Chemistry Concepts among Teachers and Students in Colleges of Education in North West, Nigeria

The study conducted in Colleges of Education, North West, Nigeria assessed teachers' and students' perceptions of difficult chemistry concepts in the 2020 Minimum Standard for chemistry program. The study was guided by five objectives, five research questions and five hypotheses tested at α = 0.05 level of confidence. Two validated questionnaires, the "Chemistry Teachers Identification of Difficult Concepts Questionnaire" (CTIODCQ) and the "Chemistry Students Identification of Difficult Concepts Questionnaire" (CSIODCQ) were used to collect data from 68 chemistry teachers (48 males 20 females) and 335 chemistry students (156 males and 179 females) in three conventional Federal Colleges of Education in the study area during the 2023/2024 academic session. The samples were drawn using multistage sampling technique from a total population of 82 chemistry teachers (58 males and 24 females) and 2071 students (964 males and 1107 females). The CTIODCQ and CSIODCQ had Cronbach reliability coefficient 0.71 and 0.74 respectively. The analysis was done using IBM-SPSS version 26.0, employing statistical methods such as mean, standard deviation, t-test, and ANOVA. The findings revealed that teachers generally found the 20-item chemistry concepts to be moderately difficult, with no significant difference in their responses (F(2,1037) = 1.845; p > 0.05). However, students perceived these concepts as difficult, with a significant difference in their perceptions (F (2, 6196) = 13.321; p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant distinction between male and female teachers' or students' perceptions of concept difficulty. The study recommended enhancing teacher training, curriculum review, and student-centered pedagogical approaches in Nigerian Colleges of Education to address these challenges.

Keywords: Assessment, Difficult, Chemistry, Concepts