Students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons in school are important dependent variables in curriculum evaluation. Although a variety of instruments have been developed by researchers to evaluate student attitudes, they are plagued with problems such as the lack of theoretical rationale and of empirical evidence to support the construct validity of data. This paper describes a study of students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons in Hong Kong secondary schools. One of the scales in the Test of Science-Related Attitudes developed by Fraser was modified to form an Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS). The construction of the ATCLS was based on a theoretical model with four dimensions: liking for chemistry theory lessons, liking for chemistry laboratory work, evaluative beliefs about school chemistry, and behavioural tendencies to learn chemistry. The arguments for inclusion of these four dimensions are presented. The final version of ATCLS was administered to 954 students. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that there was a good fit between the hypothesised model and the observed data.
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Procedural and conceptual knowledge for solving a basic quantitative problem in chemistry by expert and novice secondary school students is reported. Experts use a known qualitative procedure with a working forwards strategy to obtain a numerical solution. Novices attempt a means-ends analysis strategy which is often unsuccessful, so switch to a simple formula-driven working forwards strategy to obtain a numerical solution, the qualitative procedure being either omitted or only partially formed. A gradual shift in strategies and representations used as expertise increases was observed. Differences with findings for problem solving in physics were also found. Experts' conceptual knowledge is accurate and linked to underlying procedural knowledge, whereas novices have misconceptions and a poor understanding of formulae. Conceptual understanding, use of a qualitative procedure, and the type of strategy used, are major differences between experts and novices. Instructional techniques are suggested in these areas to enhance problem solving and teaching.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/095006999290787]

School-based assessment of science students' practical skills has two important roles—as a complement to written papers in public examinations and as a catalyst for enriching the science curriculum in schools. This article describes a quantitative study of the concerns chemistry and biology teachers experience as they engage in the process of implementation of a school-based assessment scheme for practical work. A 23-item questionnaire was developed to measure five categories of teacher concern: evaluation, information, management, consequence and refocusing. The nature of each category of teacher concern is discussed in relation to innovation adoption and implementation. Data were collected from 400 chemistry and 412 biology teachers in Hong Kong. Teachers' information and management concerns lessened in intensity when they became experienced users of a school-based assessment scheme. However, teaching experience alone could not motivate teachers to think more about the impact of school-based assessment on student learning, their professional development in student assessment and the possible refinements in their school-based assessment scheme. Concerns-based interventions are suggested to help teachers grow professionally.
[Copyright of Research in Science & Technological Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0263514042000290877]