The aim of this research was to empirically validate constructs for evaluation of teachers' attitudes toward usage of educational software in chemistry teaching. Questionnaire with items transformed from UTAUT (Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) and other technology acceptance theories were filled in by 556 Czech chemistry teachers. All constructs passed recommended .7 thresholds of Cronbach’s alpha so they can be used in acceptability researches before and after introduction of educational software or building models. However, analyses of effect sizes show that there are not only differences between users and all nonusers generally, but also prove differences between various types of nonusers. Nonusers were established as a) those who had used educational software and abandoned it; b) those who do not use educational software, but are planning to use it in the future, and c) those who do not use educational software and have no intentions to use it. An unexpected finding reveals that differences among subgroups of nonusers can be even larger than between users and nonusers, especially the group c) is an outstanding group. Consequently, factors and their influence on the acceptance and use of educational software in chemistry teaching should be explored for each group separately. Keywords: chemistry education, education software, technology acceptance.

School experiments represent a necessary means of subject-matter presentation in chemistry education and are important for chemical (scientific) thinking. Despite being a focus of several texts, a complex view on the experimental activity in chemistry education in Czechia is missing. The results of a questionnaire survey among 466 lower-secondary, lyceum and grammar school teachers focused on types of conducted experiments, their frequency, the place they are conducted. The most frequently used chemicals and sources of inspiration are presented in the paper. The results show that despite experiments’ significant role in education, its occurrence is rather seldom and teacher’s demonstrations prevail over students’ experiments. The list of the most often used chemicals suggests the experiments are mostly focused on inorganic chemistry. These results open further questions regarding occupational safety at schools as an important factor which could also be the reason for such a low representation of experiments in Czech chemistry education.

Currently, the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) has been strongly recommended to science teachers. For identification the factors of successful ICT implementation the Unified Theory of Use and Acceptance of Technology (UTAUT) is applied, which works as the theoretical background of planned monitoring of Czech chemistry teachers´ attitudes to this problem. This theoretical review introduces the process of creating the modified UTAUT model serving as the basis for a research tool to be exploited for the future survey. Within this process three sources were exploited: (1) theories dealing with factors which influence user behaviour in relation to the use of modern technologies, (2) the analysis of research results focused on the acceptance and use of ICT in chemistry instruction and (3) results of researches conducted by the authors in the field of the effectiveness of the educational software used in chemistry teaching and learning. The conducted analysis of these three sources resulted in defining the presented survey and designing the appropriate theoretical model and research tool. Key words: chemistry education, educational software, The Unified Theory of Use and Acceptance of Technology (UTAUT), teachers´ attitudes.

Higher injury rates among children is a significant post-COVID-19 phenomenon. This paper focuses on injury frequency in pre-school, as well as in younger school-age children, and maps the approaches used by families to prevent injuries and ensure child safety in the Czech Republic. The aim of the survey was to determine what types of serious injuries prevail among children, how parents or grandparents evaluate the awareness of children toward dangerous situations, and what opinions and preferences they have regarding educating their children about health and safety. The questionnaire survey among parents and grandparents (N = 278) of children from birth to the age of 12 was conducted at educational events for the wider public in 2017–2019. The survey showed that head injuries (27%) are prevalent among pre-school children; however, in children older than 5 years, injuries are due to increased outdoor activity and tend to be more associated with sports and leisure activities (fractures 31%, burns 23%). Most respondents considered their children to be more likely to recognize life-threatening risks, which is worrying in the context of the rising number of injuries in the Czech Republic in recent years.

In this research, a model to determine chemistry teachers’ acceptance of educational software in secondary education is proposed. The model extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. Data were collected from 556 Czech chemistry teachers and analysed using structural equation modelling. With respect to the significant differences among technology users and various types of nonusers, the research model for each user group was tested too. The results showed significant differences in the individual models for each group of technology user. In the model for ‘current users’ of educational software, the influence of facilitating conditions on current users’ use of educational software behavioural intention is stressed. In addition, non-planning users’ behavioural intention seems to be influenced by their personal innovativeness in IT, social influence, and performance expectancy. Behavioural intention and attitude towards using educational software affect each of the tested models, with attitudes being an even stronger predictor of educational software usage than behavioural intention. The models contribute to the understanding of teachers’ acceptance of educational software, which can be utilized in both pre- and in-service teacher training, considering technology mastery a necessary teacher competence. Keywords: chemistry teachers’ motivation, educational software use, secondary education, technology acceptance

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The research was focused on the teacher’s opinions about the key and critical points of the lower secondary chemistry curriculum in the Czech Republic. Through the interviews with 40 chemistry teachers from four Czech regions was gained information about what teachers named as critical topics and what as key topics in early chemistry school contents. Some problems were identified mainly with cognition overload of learners and the necessity to realize stronger connections to everyday life and forming science literacy. Keywords: chemistry teachers’ opinions, early chemistry education, key points of the curriculum, critical points of the curriculum.

The research is focused on the use of experimental calcium cycle in chemistry teaching at the lower secondary school. The cycle is based on four reactions: 1. thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate, 2. reaction of calcium oxide with water, 3. calcium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid, 4. reaction of calcium chloride with sodium carbonate. The calcium cycle was tested at lower secondary schools (and equal classes from comprehensive schools). Despite the difficulty of taking some steps, the cycle was accepted by both teachers and learners. Keywords: chemistry teaching, experimental cycle, calcium cycle, lower secondary education.