A Study of Success and Failure Factors for General Chemistry Laboratories in Undergraduate Courses

The aim of this study was to investigate the success and failure factors for general chemistry laboratories in undergraduate courses. The sample size consisted of 183 undergraduate science and engineering students (males and females) enrolled in an introductory chemistry course at a postsecondary 4-year university and 15 laboratory assistants from the Islamic Azad universities of Tehran and Marand regions. The research method has been of descriptive-survey type. Data collection was done using a special questionnaire which was developed using available resources, and it was validated and adjusted according to Iran's university conditions, and using interviews with experts (6 persons). The reliability of interviews was investigated and confirmed through the Cronbach Alpha method (α = 0. 89). In order to analyze the data, the descriptive and inferential statistics were used. In general, the research findings revealed that much more could be gained by the students and conceptual learning of general chemistry if students use effective experiments in laboratory experience, and that further emphasis should be given to success and failure factors for the laboratory experience.