Sustainability in the Chemistry Curriculum: A Call for Action

Abstract

Sustainable development and sustainability are two widely used umbrella concepts, both "brilliantly ambiguous." Many fields of study, including engineering, business, the humanities, and the sciences offer opportunities for instructors to connect content with sustainability. As the central science, chemistry is surely one of them. This paper issues a call for action to chemistry instructors to build stronger connections in the college chemistry curriculum to the local, regional and global challenges that we face on our planet.These challenges, multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary, include providing clean energy, protecting the environment and stewarding its resources, employing wise agricultural practices to supply food, and insuring clean water and clean air to those in all communities. As a chemical concept, the carbon cycle connects to challenges such as these. It is presented as a possibility for building stronger connections to sustainability in the curriculum.

A Comparative Analysis of Lower Secondary Chemistry Textbook Components: A Study Involving the Chinese Communities of China and Malaysia

“…Nowadays, in line with the global economic and technological development trend, MICSS emphasizes enhancing students' learning in mathematics and science while simultaneously transmitting their mother tongue culture. Within the integrated lower secondary sciences, chemistry is considered essential and compulsory, due to its close connection to people's daily life, such as food, clothing, transportation, hygiene, drugs, and personal health (Middlecamp, 2019;Set et al, 2015). Similar to Physics and Biology, Chemistry also raises awareness of people's behavior and its impact on the surrounding environment to strive towards the creation of a more friendly and healthy living environment (Bodlalo et al, 2013;Kubiatko et al, 2017).…”

Cleaning Our World through Green Chemistry: Introducing High School Students to the Principles of Green Chemistry Using a Case-Based Learning Module

“…When discussing academic advancements, scientists have emphasized the need for more green chemistry concepts in the curriculum at the highest importance. − The general public has also expressed concerns regarding our environment and the state of our atmosphere . Gathering these pertinent agendas, this interactive case-based module was created to engage and educate high school students about green chemistry principles .…”