IMPACT OF PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF CHEMISTRY TEACHERS ON THEIR CLASSROOM PRACTICES

Abstract

Pedagogical content knowledge of chemistry teachers is paramount so as to facilitate the conversion of content knowledge into teacher content knowledge so that long and complex concepts common in chemistry classes can be understood easily by students. These practices dovetail well with strong classroom practice, which provides an effective learning environment that helps students to understand such knowledge and, therefore, achieve improved results. The objectives of the present study were to: Determine the relationship and effect of pedagogical content knowledge of chemistry teachers on their classroom practices at the secondary level; and To analyse the difference between male and female teachers concerning the pedagogical content knowledge of chemistry teachers and their classroom practices at the secondary level. In this current study, a quantitative survey research design was adopted and the philosophy of the study was positivism, which constitutes the paradigm of the quantitative research. Sample include all secondary schools in the Punjab province. The research instrument used in this study was an open self-constructed five-point Likert scale based on a questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and inferential analysis were conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) through regression analysis, Pearson correlation and independent sample t-test. Analyzing the results of the study the following conclusions were made: The study postulated that there was highly significant relationship between pedagogical content knowledge of Chemistry teachers and their practice in the classroom at secondary level. The Pearson value 0.122 indicates that there is a weak positive significant relationship between pedagogical content knowledge of chemistry teachers and their classroom practices at the secondary level. The findings indicate that there was highly significant difference in the PC knowledge of chemistry teachers and their practices between male and female teachers at the secondary level.

Keywords: pedagogical content knowledge, chemistry teachers, classroom practices, secondary level