Factors Influencing Effective Teaching of Chemistry: A Case Study of Some Selected High Schools in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

The present study sought to investigate the factors that influence effective teaching of chemistry in the secondary schools in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The relationship between the students and teachers responses to these factors was critically examined. The instrument used for data collection is a structured questionnaire developed from the literature review. It contained 30 items, where 15 items were for the students and the other 15 items were for the teachers. The instrument used the 4-point Likert format of strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, disagree and were administered to one hundred and twenty individuals comprising both students and teachers. The data was collected and analyzed using chi-square statistical tool. The result showed that there is no significance relationship in the responses of students and teachers to some of the factors considered. However, some suggestions were offered on how the management of the schools, government and students involved could be improved on the factors highlighted to make the teaching and learning of chemistry more effective and interesting.