Abstract

The present research adopts a fundamental approach to presenting a conceptual framework for explaining the economics of chemistry education, with an emphasis on the components of knowledge-based economy. The statistical population consists of all faculty members in the field of chemistry at Farhangian University and chemistry teachers in the cities of Tehran Province, totaling 761 and 733 individuals, respectively. The Sample in the qualitative section includes 15 participants selected through snowball and purposive sampling methods, while in the quantitative section consists of 252 participants selected using Cochran's formula. The data collection tools for the qualitative and quantitative sections were semi-structured interviews, and a researcher-developed questionnaire, respectively. The validity and reliability were confirmed. The interviews and questionnaire data were analyzed using MAXQDA2007, IBM SPSS Statistics26, and LISREL8.8 software. The data-driven approach was employed to achieve the extracted pattern from the research. The qualitative findings indicate that four components, including economic motivation, education and human resources, innovation, and information and communication technology are influential in the economics of chemistry education. The quantitative findings confirm the extracted pattern. The absolute and economical fit indices support the desired fit of the economics of chemistry education model with an emphasis on knowledge-based economy components.