The Effects of Pre-Service Teachers’ Chemistry Perceptions on their Academic Achievement

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pre-service teachers’ chemistry perceptions on their academic achievement. The study was hinged on the behaviourist and constructivist methodologies of perception studies. The study employed a quantitative research method by using students’ end of first semester chemistry examination results as the measure of chemistry achievement and a survey questionnaire (Chemistry Perception Questionnaire (CPQ), which was a Likert-type questionnaire. Data from end of first semester examination and CPQ were collected from 72 Level 200 and 60 Level 300 elective science pre-service teachers’ of Tamale College of Education. Pearson’s moment correlation was run separately for the perceptions and academic achievements of the pre-service teachers. The findings of the study reveal that there is a negative correlation between the perceptions held by pre-service science teachers of Tamale College of Education about the chemistry curriculum and their academic achievement (r= -0.046 and r= -0.078 for Levels 200 and 300 students respectively). This means that as their perceptions deepened, their academic achievement decreased. The study also revealed that the polarity of perception statements does not significantly affect the correlation coefficient. It is however, very imperative to combine both negative and positive statements in order to reduce acquiescence bias. In conclusion, chemistry educators must seek to resolve students’ perceptual difficulties as it is very crucial in setting the tone for their academic progression in excellence. Keywords: Pre-service Teachers, Chemistry perception, Polarity of perception questions, Achievement DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-21-20 Publication date:July 31st 202