Unveiling the Struggles: Conceptual Understanding, Mastery Level, and Motivation in Senior High Chemistry

In view of the growing effort of improving learners’ performance in chemistry, determining the learners’ conceptual understanding, mastery level, and level of motivation is crucial in scoping and designing learning intervention. This study is aimed to identify the learners’ conceptual understanding, mastery level, and level of motivation in Grade 10 Chemistry learning competencies. The study employed a descriptive design involving Forty (40) Grade 11 learners in one of the public high schools in Pangutaran, Sulu of the school year 2024-2025. A 25-item researcher-made needs assessment questionnaire and adapted Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire II by Glyn et al. (2011) were utilized to gather data. Findings indicated that learners demonstrated a very low level of conceptual understanding (M=40.8%), which corresponded to a very low mastery level (M=44.84%), classified as “not mastered”. Despite of that, learners indicated that they were motivated towards learning chemistry in terms of intrinsic, career, self-determination, and grade motivation although in terms of self-efficacy they still doubt themselves especially on accomplishing labs, projects, and tests, and attaining mastery and high grade. Nonetheless, there was no significant correlation between the learners’ conceptual understanding and level of motivation in chemistry. The study recommended the school and future researcher to design and develop a strategic intervention to help grade 10 learners improve their conceptual understanding and confidence level, and in turn, mastery level in chemistry subject.