Staff and student opinions of the inclusion of practical work in higher education chemistry courses in England: What are the perceived objectives and outcomes?

Practical work is seen as an essential part of science courses. However, practical work is very resource intensive and in the current HE environment, in which academics will inevitably find themselves teaching more students with fewer resources, it is important to justify the cost in terms of educational benefit and so the objectives must be clear. This report describes the results of a survey of students undertaking chemistry undergraduate courses and staff in Higher Education chemistry departments in England. These surveys aimed to ascertain the range of practical work being carried out, alongside staff and student opinions of practical work. It also examined the reasons why practical work is included in undergraduate courses and what students take away from participating.