Exploring Students’ Perceived Difficulties of Learning Physics

Abstract

This study investigated grade 9-12 students’ perceived difficulties in learning physics and how they addressed them. 124 (48 male and 76 female) students studying in one of the higher secondary schools in Bhutan participated in the study. The data initially gathered through a survey was subsequently consolidated with the individual interview to establish in-depth findings. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The key findings revealed that the students’ perceptions of their difficulty in learning physics were associated with student, curriculum, and subject-related factors. Strategies used by the students to address these      difficulties in learning physics is also explained. Implications for future research to investigate comparable challenges in other disciplines using multi-methods are also offered.