TEACHERS’ SUGGESTIONS AND VIEWS ON APPLYING 9th GRADE SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEMISTRY CURRICULUM

The aim of this study to identify teachers’ problems and to find out teachers' views about the application process of the new 9th grade chemistry curriculum. In this study, semi-structured interviews have been carried out with 15 chemistry teachers who work in Trabzon and Rize, and their opinions have been obtained. Teachers have stated that the content is too loaded to cover within the suggested time in the curriculum, and the teachers do not understand the content exactly. They have also stated that there is no sufficient explanation about how to apply the content in the class, which methods and techniques to use. Furthermore, they have mentioned that the new curriculum does not correspond to the content of the university entry exam, and an arrangement must be made on this subject as soon as possible. Moreover, they have emphasized the insufficiency of in-service training and made suggestions about how to apply the new curriculum. The study has been finalized with some suggestions; for example, in-service training seminars on 9th grade chemistry curriculum should be organized for the teachers; it is necessary to get countrywide feedback in pre-determined intervals of time via semi- structured electronic forms, and AR-GE studies should continue.