An Analysis of Chemistry Teachers' Perceptions on the High School Credit System

Objectives This study aims to investigate chemistry teachers' perceptions of the high school credit system, which will be introduced in 2025. The perceptions were analyzed in two aspects: overall understanding of the high school credit system and perceptions related to chemistry career elective courses. Methods To achieve this, the study employed an explanatory sequential design. Quantitative data were collected through a survey of 23 chemistry teachers, followed by in-depth interviews with 5 chemistry teachers to interpret the quantitative data. The survey responses were analyzed by calculating the mean and standard deviation for each survey item based on school level and teaching experience. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to examine differences between variables. Perceptions related to expected effects were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA to determine differences among the expectation categories. Results Regarding overall perceptions, high school teachers had a statistically significantly higher understanding of the high school credit system than middle school teachers (p<.05), whereas there was no significant difference based on teaching experience (p>.05). In terms of “policy empathy for the high school credit system,” no statistically significant differences were found based on school level or teaching experience (p>.05). Regarding the expected effects of implementing the high school credit system, “promotion of learning motivation” and “enhancement of student competencies” were perceived as the most significant benefits. Regarding the perception of chemistry career elective courses in relation to career education, no statistically significant differences were found based on school level or teaching experience (p>.05). The expected effects of implementing chemistry career elective courses were primarily recognized as “relevance to chemistry-related careers” and “provision of career information in the chemistry field.” Conclusions The overall awareness of the high school credit system is still not very high, so it needs to be further increased. To achieve this, it is necessary to enhance awareness of policy consensus. Additionally, it has been confirmed that there are still limitations in linking career elective subjects with career education.