Atomic and Molecular Structure in Chemical Education: A Critical Analysis from Various Perspectives of Science Education.

With the development during the past few decades of chemical education (and in general of science education) as a research discipline, the place of structural theories and concepts has undergone strong criticism. The main reason for this criticism is the difficulty students encounter in dealing with these concepts. An explanation of this difficulty occurs if one examines the relevant concepts from different perspectives of science education, some of which many researchers consider as conflicting theories. The perspectives employed in this paper are (i) the Piagetian developmental perspective, (ii) the Ausbelian theory of meaningful learning, (iii) the information processing theory, and (iv) the alternative conceptions movement. The implications for teaching and curriculums are discussed with respect to the following: (a) Atoms and molecules as structural units of matter; (b) classification of substances according to their electrical character; (c) teaching introductory chemistry in three cycles: macro, re...