Abstract

The purpose of this study was to answer the following questions: 1) How well prepared are chemistry teachers in terms of content and pedagogy, 2) What are chemistry teachers trying to accomplish in their teaching and what activities do they use to meet their objectives and 3) What are the barriers to effective chemistry teaching identified by teachers? Eighty six teachers from 39 public and private schools participated in the study. Data for the study came from teachers’ responses to questionnaires and records of two classroom observations per teacher. Results showed that the majority of teachers had university degrees, two-thirds majored in chemistry, only 50% had teaching credentials, and most teachers did not have enough training to use computers in their classrooms. Finally, results related to classroom practices indicated that Lebanese chemistry teachers emphasized academic objectives and perceived the purpose of school chemistry as preparation for higher studies.