Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students’ Approaches to Learning Organic Chemistry: Gender and Level-Based Variations

This study explored students’ approaches to learning organic chemistry across multiple academic levels to understand how learning orientations evolve as students progress through their programmes. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was adopted, involving a purposive sample of 36 students comprising 28 males and 8 females. The participants included 17 Level 200 students, 6 Level 300 students, 5 Level 400 students, and 8 postgraduate students. Data were collected using the Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F), which measures deep and surface motives and strategies. Descriptive analyses showed that postgraduate students predominantly adopted a deep approach to learning, characterized by strong intrinsic motivation, reflective engagement, and the use of integrative learning strategies. Similarly, Level 400 students demonstrated a greater tendency toward deep motives and strategies compared with students at Levels 200 and 300, who were more inclined to rely on surface motives such as rote memorization and minimal-effort strategies. Despite these observable patterns across levels, inferential statistical analyses revealed no significant differences in learning approaches by academic level or gender. These findings suggest that while progressive exposure to advanced chemistry content may encourage deeper engagement, students across levels continue to rely differently on both deep and surface approaches. The study recommends that chemistry educators and curriculum designers incorporate conceptual change pedagogies, scientific reasoning tasks, modeling activities, interdisciplinary connections, and context-rich instructional strategies to foster deeper, more meaningful, and transferable learning in organic chemistry.