Specifics of developing professional competence of chemistry teachers: Comparative subject knowledge assessment in groups of teachers with different qualifications, work experience and workload structure

Introduction. Improving the quality of science education is a priority for the Russian education system. Success in achieving this goal is largely determined by the subject competence of science teachers. The aim of the study is to conduct a comparative assessment of chemistry teachers’ subject competence in groups with different qualifications, work experience and structure of the teaching load. Materials and Methods. The research methodology is based on a comprehensive approach to assessing teachers’ professional competencies. The study uses questionnaires, testing, and comparative analysis to solve the research tasks. The sample included 265 chemistry teachers from different regions of the Siberian Federal District (the Russian Federation) Results. The study found that more than half of the chemistry teachers experience subject-specific difficulties of varying levels, with the severity of deficiencies being virtually independent of the length of teaching experience. A contradiction was revealed between the positive influence of in-depth knowledge of mathematics and physics on the development of chemistry teachers’ subject competence and the actual absence of physical and mathematical disciplines in the curricula for chemistry education degrees in pedagogical universities. Conclusions. The study concludes that further improvement of professional development programmes for chemistry teachers is necessary; including strengthened subject-specific preparation in Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics within the curriculum.