Perceived importance and didactic difficulty of chemistry education: Insights from Czech teachers

Abstract This empirical study examines how chemistry teachers in lower and upper secondary schools in the Czech Republic evaluate the content of the chemistry curriculum, focussing on its perceived importance and didactic difficulty. Based on a quantitative survey ( N = 146), the study provides insight into the pedagogical content knowledge of experienced teachers. Statistical methods included the chi‐squared goodness‐of‐fit test, the chi‐squared test of independence and multiple correspondence analysis. The results show that topics requiring integration with mathematics and other science subjects are perceived as particularly demanding. They also indicate that teachers consider some part of the chemistry curriculum to be unimportant yet difficult to teach (e.g., particulate structure of matter, chemical reactions and factors influencing their rate, chemistry and society, chemical equilibrium, heat changes during chemical reactions, reaction rate). These findings are discussed in relation to the development and reform of the chemistry curriculum and teacher professional development.