Students’ Attitudes Towards Chemistry: On the Gender and Grades Perspective

Abstract

This descriptive research with a quantitative approach aims to describe the differences in students' attitudes toward chemistry based on gender and grade level. The participants were 186 senior high school students in Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia, selected by convenience sampling technique. The data collection tool used was the Likert-scale Attitudes Toward Chemistry Questionnaire by Salta that has been validated and proven reliable using Pearson Correlation and Cronbach Alpha. The questionnaire consisted of 23 items, including aspects of the importance of chemistry, difficulty of chemistry, the interest of chemistry, and usefulness of chemistry in the future career. Mann Whitney analysis was used to describe the effect of gender and grades on attitudes toward chemistry. The result showed that students had a neutral attitude toward chemistry. There are significant differences in attitudes towards chemistry between male and female students in all aspects. The differences in students' attitudes towards chemistry based on grades only exist in the aspect of the importance of chemistry. The teacher should motivate and enhance chemistry learning to increase students' positive attitudes toward chemistry. Further research is required to ensure the cause of the difference between male and female students' attitudes.