ABSTRACT
This study was meant to investigate difficult topics in senior secondary school chemistry syllabus. A case study of Chemistry students in Oredo local government area of Edo state. Four research questions were raised in order to carry out this study.
Data were collected through questionnaire that were randomly distributed to five secondary schools were selected. Two boys schools, two girls schools and one mixed school in Oredo Local Government Area. The techniques used for analysis were the simple frequency, percentage and mean based on a four point Likert scale. The population of the study was all Senior secondary student's offering Chemistry in Oredo local government area, but the sample was 125 students randomly selected. Five (5) schools were randomly selected from the thirteen (13) Senior Secondary Schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. To ascertain the reliability of the instrument, pilot testing was carried out on twenty (25) SS 2 students from a mixed public senior secondary school.
Based on the research it was discovered that; There is no significant differences in the students perception of difficult concepts in chemistry, difficulty has no significant influence on the academic achievement of students, Difficult concepts in chemistry have no significant influence on the interest of students towards studying chemistry, lastly, There is no significant gender differences in students perceptions of difficult topics in Chemistry. Some recommendation where made which include; Secondary School Chemistry Curriculum should be renewed by NUT, STAN and NUC respectively without further delay, It should allow the use of students alternative conceptions for bridging exercise “step by step to lead the student to correct explanation starting from what they already believed, Concept test for formative assessments should be developed for many classes (levels) in chemistry.
