Learning Difficulties in Chemistry: An Overview

Chemistry is often regarded as a difficult subject, an observation which sometimes repels learners from continuing with studies in chemistry. This paper seeks to bring together the general findings obtained from research over the past few decades for both school pupils and university students in an attempt to suggest the key reasons for this difficulty. Suggestions are made on ways to minimise the problems based on understandings of attitudes and motivation as well as the psychological understandings of how learning takes place.