Enhancing chemistry education: Implementation of ceramic cleaner and laundry soap making to foster subject interest among secondary school students

Abstract

The integration of practical learning components is crucial in promoting students' interest in STEM education, improving the application  of acquired competencies, and achieving learning outcomes. This study was carried out to investigate the impact of integration of  practical application on students’ subject interest. The study employed a quantitative approach with posttest-only control group designs.  It randomly assigned 205 respondents to control and experimental groups. To ensure similarity between groups, block randomization  based on characteristics such as prior exposure to ceramic cleaner and laundry soap activities, Academic performance and parents’  occupations were used. It involved random sampling of schools (N = 4) and purposive sampling of Form four science students (N = 205).  A Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect data. An independent sample ttest was used in data analysis. An independent sample t -  test revealed a significant mean difference between the control group (N1 = 3.6) and the experimental group (N2 = 4.4). The experimental group showed considerably more interest in the subject than the control group (t = -9.199, p < .001, effect size 0.29). This study  recommends that educators prioritize strongly the practical application of chemistry in everyday circumstances to improve students'  interest in chemistry and persistence in STEM education.