


















































Journal of Green Learning


Journal of Green Learning, e-ISSN 2807-890X 

Vol. 2, No. 1, 2022, pp. 38-44.  
DOI: 10.53889/jgl.v2i1.103 

-------------------------------------------------------- 

 

University students' self-efficacy, attitudes, and intentions toward 

chemistry: Myanmar context 
 

Mya Thet Mon
1
 

1 Department of Chemistry, Mandalay University of Distance Education, Mandalay City, Myanmar 

 

Article Info  ABSTRACT 
Article history: 

Received September 20, 2021 

Revised   January 10, 2022 

Accepted March 12, 2022 

 

 This research examined the self-efficacy beliefs, attitudes towards Chemistry, 
and intentions to take future Chemistry courses in a sample of  112 students 

from selected universities in Myanmar. The main purpose of the study was to 

determine the university students' self-efficacy, attitudes, and intentions toward 

Chemistry in Myanmar context. Findings indicate that self-efficacy 

(Mean=2.05) and attitude are both significant, making a larger unique 

contribution. According to the findings, Self-efficacy of undergraduate students 

was slightly significant indicating confidence of the participants. Our findings 

suggest that in general, although the population at Myanmar universities 

slightly feel confident in their ability to perform in Chemistry, have strong 

attitude towards Chemistry, and moderate intentions toward enrolling in future 

Chemistry courses. In the current context, the students believe that they are 

capable of successfully performing tasks affiliated with Chemistry content. 

Students with a high self-efficacy toward Chemistry will be more likely to take 

on the challenge of Chemistry and persist through the courses. Finally, 

implications for educators and administrators are discussed. 

 

Keywords: 

attitudes 

chemistry 

intentions 

Myanmar 

self-efficacy 

 

 

This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. 

 
Corresponding Author: 

Mya Thet Mon 

Department of Chemistry 

Mandalay University of Distance Education 

Mandalay City 

Myanmar 

Email: drmyathetmon@gmail.com 

 

1. INTRODUCTION 

At the university level, a Chemistry course often consists of students who are completing the course as 

an elective course for some further study of science, technology, or engineering. They have previous experiences 

in science or math, they are roughly similar in their Chemistry background, they are beginning their university 

and they are early enough in their academic pursuits where they can change majors easily with little 

consequence. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine how university students’ perceived skills 

(self-efficacy) in Chemistry and liking of Chemistry (attitudes) affects their willingness to enroll in future 

Chemistry courses (intentions).  

Ebbing & Gammon (2010) define Chemistry as “the science of the composition and structure of 

materials and of the changes that materials undergo” (p. 2). Chemistry is a complex science that helps not only 

explain the world around us, but also helps to explain processes in many other fields such as biology, physics, 

environmental science, and medical sciences. There are many different types of Chemistry; Inorganic Chemistry, 

Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, etc. The 

Chemistry course is a complex and challenging course that is essential for training professionals; therefore, the 

present study will address the following research objectives: 

1. To explore students’ self-efficacy beliefs toward Chemistry by using Self-Efficacy for Chemistry 

(SEC) scale 

2. To investigate students’ attitude toward Chemistry by using Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons 

Scale (ATCLS) 

3. To find out intentions toward Chemistry through Student’s Chemistry Intentions (SCI) Scale. 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


39 

 

         Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief about his or her capabilities on a specific task (Bandura, 1997). 

Research has shown that students with a higher self-efficacy typically choose more challenging tasks and persist 

longer on challenging tasks than students with lower self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997; Bandura & Schunk, 1981). 

Likewise, students with a high self-efficacy will show more effort when pursuing a challenging task and will 

generally perform higher on that given task than students with low self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997). Laboratory 

experiences at university level tend to vary in terms of quantity and quality and we wanted an operational 

definition that would be applicable to both levels of study regardless of the varying laboratory experiences. 

Therefore, self-efficacy is an important motivational variable that has been shown to influence cognitive and 

behavioral choices. Another way self-efficacy can increase is if a person performs above his/her peers on a task.  

     To test the self-efficacy of Chemistry, the scale must inquire about student’s beliefs to perform specific 

tasks encountered in Chemistry curriculum only. Therefore, the Self-Efficacy for Chemistry (SEC) scale was 

developed and tested in a pilot study with students at the undergraduate level based on the recommendations of 

Bandura (2006). The SEC scale consists of 14 items that specifically focus on concepts taught in a Chemistry 

course and does not include items that assess beliefs about laboratory skills. The SEC scale was shown to have 

good internal consistency. Chemistry is challenging and takes persistence at the secondary level, and even more 

so at the university level. Ajzen (1991) defines intentions as indications of people’s willingness to try and/or 

amount of effort they will exert to perform the behavior. Therefore, Chemistry self-efficacy would be a predictor 

of intentions toward Chemistry.  

         It is agreed that one of the purposes of introductory science courses, whether at the secondary or 

university level, should be to ignite positive student attitudes toward that specific science subject (Cheung, 

2009a). The stronger the person’s attitude, the greater their perceived control, the stronger the intention, and the 

more likely the person is to carry out the behavior (Ajzen, 1991). In science, a person’s thoughts, feelings, and 

behaviors towards the discipline are important to consider because attitudes have been shown to influence 

academic performance (Bennett, Rollnick, Green, & White, 2001), self-efficacy (Bandura, 2006; Dalgety et al., 

2003), as well as intentions (Ajzen, 1991; Cheung, 2009a; Kurbanoğlu & Akin, 2010). Many researchers agree 

that research on attitudes must be broken down into subjects such as Chemistry, physics, and biology instead of a 

general science attitude measure (Cheung, 2009a). The Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS; 

Cheung, 2009b) was developed to measure a person’s attitude (i.e., predisposition to respond to something in a 

favorable or unfavorable manner) toward Chemistry lessons (i.e., theory plus laboratory). The ATCLS is a 12-

item scale where the total score represents overall attitude toward Chemistry with four subscales (3 items each) 

representing the following dimensions: 1) liking of Chemistry lessons, 2) liking of Chemistry laboratory work, 3) 

evaluative beliefs for school Chemistry (i.e., usefulness of Chemistry), and 4) behavioral tendencies to learn 

Chemistry (Cheung, 2009b).  

Students with low self-efficacy and unfavorable attitudes towards Chemistry can negatively affect the 

efforts of institutions to recruit, retain, and graduate majors. Therefore, educators at university level should seek 

to improve students’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward Chemistry. Sadly, less than 40 percent of students 

intending to major in a discipline upon entering university complete a degree. However, jobs requiring degrees 

are projected to increase four times as fast as the overall job growth (Business-Higher Education Forum, 2010). 

Therefore, for institutions to recruit and retain majors by increasing students’ self-efficacy and attitudes toward 

Chemistry. Since experiences occur at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level, educators must find ways 

to increase self-efficacy and attitudes at both levels. 

 

2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 

The objectives of this research are as follows; 

(1) To explore students’ self-efficacy beliefs toward Chemistry by using Self-Efficacy for Chemistry 

(SEC) scale. 

(2) To investigate students’ attitude toward Chemistry by using Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons 

Scale (ATCLS). 

(3) To find out intentions toward Chemistry through Student’s Chemistry Intentions (SCI) Scale. 

  

3.  METHOD  

3.1 Sample 

             The sample of 19 (male) and 90 (female) students from selected universities in Myanmar.  

  3.2 Instruments 

   Self-efficacy for Chemistry was measured with the Self-Efficacy for Chemistry (SEC) scale created 

specifically for this study and piloted in a separate study. The SEC scale contains 14 items which together 

measure students’ perceived abilities to be successful in performing specific Chemistry content related tasks. 

Participants are asked to rate their level of confidence in their capabilities to complete the tasks using a 3-point 

Likert scale with anchors at 1 (Not at all confident) and 3 (Very confident). The total mean score from the SEC 

scale represents an overall self-efficacy towards Chemistry. Attitude towards Chemistry was measured using the 



40 

 

12-item Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS; Cheung, 2009b) where participants were asked to 

rate their level of agreement for each item using a 3-point Likert scale with anchors at 1 (Disagree) and 3 

(Agree). The total mean score from the ATCLS represents an overall attitude towards Chemistry. Intentions to 

take future Chemistry courses were examined using the newly created Students’ Chemistry Intentions (SCI) 

scale. The SCI scale contains 6 items which asks students to pinpoint when/if they plan to take a Chemistry 

course in the future. Three of the items are positively worded (e.g., “I intend to enroll in a postgraduate 

Chemistry course in the future”) and three items are negatively worded (e.g., “I do not intend to enroll a 

Chemistry course unless I have to”). Participants are asked to rate how true each statement is to them using a 3-

point Likert scale with anchors at 1 (Definitely not true for me) and 3 (Completely true for me). Basic 

demographics of the participants such as gender and major were collected. To answer research questions, 

calculation was conducted using the SPSS 20.0 program.  

3.3 Data collection 

         The present research was carried out using 109 students enrolled at Chemistry departments in selected 

universities. Participants were (19) male and (90) female. For the present study, self-efficacy for Chemistry, 

attitude towards Chemistry, and intentions toward Chemistry were explored. To explore Self-efficacy for 

Chemistry, participants were asked to rate their level of confidence in their capabilities to complete the tasks on a 

3-point Likert scale with anchors at 1 (Not at all confident) and 3 (Very confident). The Attitude Toward 

Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS; Cheung, 2009b) was used as the parameter of attitude in this study 

showcasing good internal consistency in the studies. This scale comprises 12 items which collectively measures 

students’ intentions to take future Chemistry courses and again is evaluated using a 3-point Likert scale with 

anchors at 1 (Disagree) and 3 (Agree). A scale to measure students’ intentions to take future Chemistry courses 

was also necessary, therefore the Student Chemistry Intentions (SCI) scale was applied. This scale contains 6 

items which collectively measures students’ intentions to take future Chemistry courses and again is evaluated 

using a 3-point Likert scale with anchors at 1 (Not at all true for me) and 3 (Completely true for me).  

  3.4 Data analysis 
The SEC scale contains 14 items which together measure students’ perceived abilities to be successful in 

performing specific Chemistry content related tasks. The total mean score from the ATCLS represents an overall 

attitude towards Chemistry. The SCI scale contains 6 items which asks students to pinpoint when/if they plan to 

take a Chemistry course in the future. Basic demographics of the participants such as gender and major were 

collected. To answer research questions, calculation was conducted using the SPSS 20.0 program.  

 

4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION 

4.1 Self-Efficacy for Chemistry (SEC) Scale 

 

Table 1: Students’ responses toward self-efficacy for Chemistry (SEC) scale (n=112) 

SN Items 

Responses Calculation 

Interpretation Not at all 

Confident  
Confident 

Very 

Confident 
Mean SD 

1 

How confident are you in your 

ability to learn theories of the 

coordinate bond in metal 

complexes? 

15.00% 59.00% 26.00% 2.11 0.63 Confident  

2 

How confident are you in your 

ability to study basic concepts of 

molecular spectroscopy? 

17.00% 62.00% 21.00% 2.04 0.62 Confident  

3 

How confident are you in your 

ability to learn theoretical 

concepts of organic chemistry? 

6.00% 71.00% 23.00% 2.17 0.51 Confident  

4 

How confident are you in your 

ability to write a balanced 

chemical equation for a given 

reaction? 

19.00% 59.00% 22.00% 2.03 0.64 Confident  

5 

How confident are you in your 

ability to apply a precipitation 

titration? 

19.00% 66.00% 15.00% 1.96 0.58 Confident  

6 

How confident are you in your 

ability to prevent air pollution and 

water pollution? 

5.00% 72.00% 23.00% 2.18 0.50 Confident  

7 How confident are you in your 18.00% 63.00% 19.00% 2.01 0.61 Confident  



41 

 

ability to classify electronic 

absorption spectra of complexes? 

8 

How confident are you in your 

ability to calculate statistical 

thermodynamics? 

21.00% 58.00% 21,00% 2.00 0.65 Confident  

9 

How confident are you in your 

ability to learn electrophilic 

aromatic sub situation? 

25.00% 61.00% 14.00% 1.89 0.61 Confident  

10 

How confident are you in your 

ability to categorize a 

fundamental of electrode 

processes? 

22.00% 64.00% 14.00% 1.92 0.59 Confident  

11 

How confident are you in your 

ability to study Inorganic 

Chemistry? 

9.00% 70.00% 21.00% 2.12 0.53 Confident  

12 

How confident are you in your 

ability to apply the Physical 

Chemistry? 

15.00% 63.00% 22.00% 2.07 0.60 Confident  

13 

How confident are you in your 

ability to learn Organic 

Chemistry? 

12.00% 68.00% 20.00% 2.08 0.56 Confident  

14 

How confident are you in your 

ability to explain Analytical 

Chemistry? 

16.00% 59.00% 25.00% 2.09 0.63 Confident  

Average 15.64% 63.93% 20.43% 2.05 0.60 Confident  

Note:  

1.00-1.66=Not at all Confident  

1.67-2.33=Confident  

2.34-3.00=Very Confident 

 

According to the data, self-efficacy of undergraduate students was slightly confident (Mean=2.05) 

indicating confidence of the participants. In the current context, students believe that they are capable of 

successfully performing tasks affiliated with chemistry content. 

 

4.2 Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS)  

The Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS; Cheung, 2009b) was used as the parameter of 

this study showcasing good internal consistency in the studies.  

 

Table 2 Students’ responses toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS) (Cheung, 2009b) (n=112) 

SN Items 
Responses Calculation 

Interpretation 
Disagree Neutral Agree Mean SD 

1 
I like Chemistry more than any other 

school subjects. 
25.00% 7.00% 68.00% 2.43 0.86 Positive 

2 Chemistry lessons are interesting. 25.00% 5.00% 70.00% 2.45 0.86 Positive 

3 
Chemistry is useful for solving everyday 

problems. 
15.00% 4.00% 81.00% 2.66 0.72 Positive 

4 Chemistry is one of my favorite subjects. 27.00% 7.00% 66.00% 2.39 0.88 Positive 

5 
I am willing to spend more time on 

reading Chemistry books. 
21.00% 7.00% 72.00% 2.51 0.82 Positive 

6 I like to do Chemistry experiments. 28.00% 9.00% 63.00% 2.35 0.89 Positive 

7 
When I am working in the Chemistry lab, I 

feel I am doing something important. 
21.00% 6.00% 73.00% 2.52 0.82 Positive 

8 
People must understand Chemistry 

because it affects their lives. 
21.00% 10.00% 69.00% 2.48 0.82 Positive 

9 
I like trying to solve new problems in 

Chemistry. 
30.00% 5.00% 65.00% 2.35 0.91 Positive 

10 Doing Chemistry experiments is fun. 23.00% 10.00% 67.00% 2.44 0.84 Positive 

11 
Chemistry is one of the most important 

subjects for people to study. 
20.00% 5.00% 75.00% 2.55 0.80 Positive 



42 

 

12 If I had a chance, I would do a project in 

Chemistry. 
19.00% 10.00% 71.00% 2.52 0.79 Positive 

Average 22.90% 7.10% 70.00% 2.47 0.84 Positive 

Note:  

1.00-1.66=Negative  

1.67-2.33=Not Decided 

2.34-3.00=Positive 

 

Average mean value of attitude was very strong (Mean=2.47) indicating that students’ attitudes are 

uniquely positive. 

 

4.3 Students’ Chemistry Intentions (SCI) Scale 

 

Table 3 Responses of participants toward Students’ Chemistry Intentions (SCI) Scale (n=112) 

SN Items 

Responses Calculation 

Interpretation 
Definitely 

not true for 

me 

Neutral 
Completely 

true for me 
Mean SD 

1 

I intend to attend a workshop 

on Chemistry learning in the 

future. 

21.00% 4.00% 75.00% 2.54 0.82 
Having sole 

intention 

2 

I do not intend to enroll in a 

master’s degree program of 

Chemistry specialization in the 

future. 

70.00% 6.00% 24.00% 1.54 0.85 
Having no 

intention  

3 

I intend to enroll in a research 

project on Chemistry teaching 

and learning before the end of 

my university years. 

18.00% 5.00% 77.00% 2.59 0.78 
Having sole 

intention 

4 
I intend to NEVER enroll in a 

Chemistry course in the future. 
81.00% 5.00% 14.00% 1.33 0.71 

Having no 

intention  

5 

I do not intend to enroll a Ph.D. 

program in Chemistry if I have 

to. 

74.00% 7.00% 19.00% 1.45 0.79 
Having no 

intention  

6 

I intend to attend a research 

conference on Chemistry 

teaching within the next year. 

24.00% 7.00% 69.00% 2.45 0.85 
Having sole 

intention 

Average 48.00% 5.70% 46.30% 1.98 0.97 

Having a 

moderate 

intention 

Note:  

1.00-1.66=Having no intention  

1.67-2.33=Having a moderate intention 

2.34-3.00=Having sole intention 

 

With a sample of 112, we have met students’ intentions toward Chemistry. Mean is too high in items, 3 

(Mean=2.59), 1 (Mean=2.54) and 6 (Mean=2.45). These items in Table 3 display the descriptive statistics (i.e., 

means and standard deviations) for the intentions for future Chemistry classes. 

Table 4 Descriptive statistics for three variables 

SN Items 
Responses Calculation 

Interpretation 
Disagree Neutral Agree Mean SD 

1 
Students’ self-efficacy for 

Chemistry (SEC) scale 
15.64% 63.93% 20.43% 2.05 0.60 

Somewhat positive 

impact  

2 
Students’ attitude toward Chemistry 

lessons scale (ATCLS) 
22.90% 7.10% 70.00% 2.47 0.84 Positive impact  

3 
Students’ Chemistry Intentions 

(SCI) Scale 
48.00% 5.70% 46.30% 1.98 0.97 

Somewhat positive 

impact  

Average 28.9% 25.6% 45.6% 2.17 0.85 
Somewhat positive 

impact  



43 

 

Note:  

1.00-1.66=Negative impact upon the Chemistry learning environment  

1.67-2.33=Somewhat positive impact upon the Chemistry learning environment  

2.34-3.00=Positive impact upon the Chemistry learning environment  

 

In this research, although both attitude (Mean=2.47) and self-efficacy (Mean=2.05) make significant 

contributions, attitude was found to make the largest contribution. Both attitude and self-efficacy also indicate a 

contribution to the intentions. Thus, the ability of self-efficacy for Chemistry and attitude for Chemistry might 

support intentions toward Chemistry. Students who approach a Chemistry lesson with fear have likely slight 

confidence in their science skills. Chemistry teachers can help their students encourage positive Chemistry 

attitudes in order to increase retention. 

In this study, we sought to examine the effect of self-efficacy and attitudes towards general Chemistry 

on university students’ intentions to take future Chemistry courses. Our findings suggest that in general, although 

the population at university slightly feel confident in their ability to perform in Chemistry (Mean=2.06, 

SD=0.60), strong attitude towards Chemistry (Mean=2.47, SD=0.84), and moderate intentions toward enrolling 

in future Chemistry courses (M=1.98, SD=0.97). In the present study, self-efficacy, and attitude were found to 

support the intentions. Of the two, attitude made the largest significant contribution. Together these results 

suggest that self-efficacy and attitude are important motivational variables that should be considered when trying 

to determine students’ intentions to engage and persist in Chemistry related fields. 

Chemistry self-efficacy and attitude, gives students meaningful tasks connected to the content at which 

they can succeed is very important. Meaningful tasks refer to learning tasks that are designed to be relevant for 

the students and provide opportunities for students to connect new content with information they already know 

(i.e., stored in long-term memory). Learning through meaningful tasks has been shown to be more effective than 

learning information in isolated pieces (Lin, 2007; Mayer, 2002; Nuangchalerm & Prachagool, 2010). When 

students learn through meaningful tasks, they accomplish greater depth of understanding, therefore adding to 

their mastery experiences and increasing their self-efficacy (Uzuntiryaki & Aydin, 2009). Meaningful tasks 

come in a variety of forms: student-performed inquiry-based experiments, real-life applications, inquiry-based 

instruction, and cooperative learning (Sahatsathatsana et.al., 2021).  

In addition, these experiments or labs should be connected to the real-world community to mimic 

students’ natural experiences (as closely as possible) to help make the content more meaningful to the students 

(Bransford et.al., 2000). Due to the microscopic scale of Chemistry and its reliance on teaching abstract 

concepts, students often struggle with the everyday applications of Chemistry for community engagement. To 

alleviate this problem, educators should incorporate real-life applications into their Chemistry instruction 

(Cheung, 2009a; Kurbanoğlu & Akin, 2010). The defining component of a real-world or authentic task is that the 

students practice thinking like that required in the real world. Real-life applications require students to use higher 

order thinking processes; “authentic activities foster the kinds of thinking and problem-solving skills that are 

important in out-of-school settings…”. These higher order thinking skills are necessary for success in a major 

and allowing students to see that the content is used outside of school fosters stronger attitudes toward Chemistry 

because of an increase in the perceived value of the discipline (Anderman & Wolters, 2006).  

 

5. LIMITATION 

Within this research study, we must acknowledge a limitation and provide our suggestions for future 

research. The information gathered from the SEC scale could allow Chemistry educators to then design 

instructional interventions to help increase student success, interest, and performance, which could help to 

increase self-efficacy, attitudes, and students’ intentions to pursue careers. Our intention during the scale’s 

development was for the SEC scale to be used at both the secondary and university levels; therefore, future 

research would first need to validate this scale at the secondary level. In addition, future research should be 

conducted within these classrooms to test the effectiveness of these interventions on important motivational 

variables such as self-efficacy and attitudes, as well as university and career-readiness variables and career 

intentions. 

 

 

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