Özet:

The role of Chemistry in the promotion of national development cannot be over emphasized, consequently there is a need to put in place all that will sustain the acquisition of knowledge such as the number of students studying it. Therefore, the current study investigated the perceptions of college of education students on factors causing low enrolment in the learning of Chemistry. The study involved 120 students enrolled at the Kwara State College of Education (Technical) Lafiagi studying Chemistry Education. A researcher-designed scale named the Perception of College Students on Factors Causing Low Enrolment Questionnaire (PCSFCLEQ) was used to elicit information from the respondents. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach alpha and a reliability coefficient of .71 was obtained. The data gathered from the study was analyzed using frequency counts and percentage, while two null hypotheses formulated were tested using t-test. Findings from the study revealed that the students perceived 10 items as factors causing low enrolment of college students in the learning of Chemistry which were then categorized into three factors. It was also revealed that gender influenced the perceptions of the students, which was in favor of female students, whilst the students’ grade level did not influence their perceptions. It was therefore recommended to use a model such as multiple representation of Chemistry concepts as well as visualization tools by teacher trainers so as to promote the abstract nature of Chemistry as it constituted a negative influence for students learning Chemistry. Also, both male and female students should be afforded equal opportunity when it comes to the learning of Chemistry.

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