Educational Needs and Difficulties of High School Students in Learning Genetics: A Systematic Review

Genetics is a foundational area of biology and scientific literacy, yet high school students frequently experience difficulty understanding its abstract mechanisms, specialized terminology, probabilistic reasoning, and links across molecular, cellular, organismal, and population levels. This systematic review examined the educational needs and learning difficulties of high school students in genetics and synthesized evidence from studies finally included in the review. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. A literature search was conducted using Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Crossref. Search results were imported into Zotero for deduplication, with additional manual verification of near-duplicate records. Of the 959 identified records, 8 duplicates were removed, leaving 951 unique records for title and abstract screening. After screening and full-text eligibility assessment, 21 studies were included. Findings show that students' difficulties cluster around five recurring areas: weak prior knowledge and retention, misconceptions and fragmented conceptual understanding, difficulty visualizing abstract and molecular processes, problems with genetics terminology and scientific articulation, and low engagement with traditional instruction. The educational needs reported across the studies include contextualized and localized learning materials, visual and simulation-based resources, strategic intervention materials, inquiry-based and problem-based learning, scaffolding, conceptual change strategies, and teacher professional development. The review indicates that genetics instruction should move beyond rote memorization and isolated problem solving toward multimodal, learner-centered, evidence-based, and conceptually connected instruction. These findings may guide teachers, curriculum developers, and education researchers in designing interventions that improve students' conceptual understanding, engagement, and scientific literacy in genetics.

Genetics Education; PRISMA; Learning Difficulties; Educational Needs; Misconceptions

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