Promoting sustainable development competencies and teaching in chemistry education at university

Authors

• Emmi Vuorio Helsingin yliopisto
• Johannes Pernaa Helsingin yliopisto
• Maija Aksela Helsingin yliopisto

Abstract

Promoting sustainable development in university education is the key towards a good and sustainable future. This article presents two research questions of a broader survey study: (i) How are sustainable development skills promoted in university education in the field of chemistry? (ii) What kinds of teaching methods are used in chemistry university education? The teaching context was greenhouse gases. The data consisted of 43 answers from 9 universities’ teaching personnel from the field of chemistry. The data was processed through methods of quantitative analysis and qualitative content analysis. In general, learning competencies were considered important. The most often promoted competence in teaching was critical thinking. The respondents used versatile teaching methods, such as critical reading and writing and problem-based learning. The suggestion was made to enhance chemistry university education by raising the acknowledgment of fostering the learning of sustainable development competencies. This should be met by offering education on the topic to teaching personnel. Further research is needed on how higher education teachers can be best supported in exploiting even more versatile teaching methods.