Why Green Chemistry Matters in Schools
Green Chemistry focuses on designing chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate hazardous substances. Its 12 principles encourage practices such as preventing waste, improving atom economy, using renewable materials, increasing energy efficiency, employing catalysts, and reducing risks associated with chemical experiments.
The need for this approach has become increasingly important as the world faces interconnected environmental problems, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution. Chemistry education can help students develop environmental awareness and responsible scientific habits from an early stage.
International sustainability agendas also increasingly emphasize education as part of the transition toward responsible production and consumption. For secondary schools, this means that sustainability cannot remain a concept discussed in textbooks. It also needs to appear in laboratory activities, experiments, assessment, and classroom decision-making.
However, the researchers found a substantial gap between teachers' understanding of Green and Sustainable Chemistry (GSC) and their ability to apply it in practice.
A Mixed-Methods Study of 30 Teachers
Domingo and Cruz-Ocampo used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, combining a survey with interviews.
The quantitative phase involved all 30 secondary science teachers in the Schools Division Office of San Juan City. A 40-item questionnaire examined teachers' awareness of Green and Sustainable Chemistry, readiness to integrate it into the curriculum, laboratory and classroom practices, and connections between chemistry, systems thinking, and environmental policies.
The questionnaire demonstrated high reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.971.
Researchers then conducted semi-structured interviews to understand why teachers' knowledge did not always translate into classroom practice. The interview responses were examined thematically, particularly for technical, financial, pedagogical, and cultural barriers.
High Awareness Does Not Guarantee Green Laboratory Practice
The survey revealed that teachers generally had strong awareness of Green Chemistry. Their awareness of the 12 Green Chemistry principles recorded a mean score of 2.740, categorized in the study as "Very Aware."
But awareness became weaker when teachers encountered more specialized concepts and applications.
Key findings included:
- Awareness of basic Green Chemistry terminology: 2.661
- Awareness of UNEP objectives: 2.163
- Awareness of Life Cycle Assessment: 2.458
- Implementation of atom economy: 2.138, categorized as "Seldom"
- Use of catalysts instead of stoichiometric reagents: 2.239, categorized as "Seldom"
- Confidence that existing training was adequate: only 2.266, indicating low confidence
- Readiness to introduce Green Chemistry earlier in the curriculum: 3.151
Teachers were more likely to adopt straightforward safety-oriented practices, such as selecting experiments that reduce accident risks. However, more advanced Green Chemistry approaches, including atom economy and quantitative measures such as E-factors, were rarely incorporated.
One of the study's most important statistical findings was the absence of a meaningful relationship between GSC awareness and actual laboratory implementation. The correlation was r = 0.072 with p = 0.844.
In practical terms, teachers who reported higher awareness were not necessarily the teachers who implemented more Green Chemistry practices.
Four Barriers Hold Back Classroom Implementation
Interviews helped explain the gap.
The researchers identified four broad categories of barriers that together create what they describe as an "institutional ceiling" for Green Chemistry implementation.
The interviews also highlighted misconceptions, including the tendency to equate "natural" substances with safety, showing the importance of deeper conceptual understanding.
Virtual Labs Can Help, but They Cannot Replace Hands-On Learning
The study also examined technology-based approaches. Virtual laboratories can reduce chemical consumption, laboratory waste, and safety risks while allowing students to practice concepts before entering a physical laboratory.
However, teachers favored blended approaches rather than replacing hands-on experiments entirely. Physical laboratory work remains important for developing tactile and practical skills.
Digital tools such as PubChem and ChemSpider could also support chemistry learning, particularly when combined with digital literacy and students' ability to regulate and critically evaluate information. The researchers noted concerns about distraction and uncritical use of artificial intelligence, suggesting that technology integration requires guidance rather than simply providing access to digital tools.
From One-Day Training to "Lab Beyond the Classroom"
For Domingo and Cruz-Ocampo, improving Green Chemistry education requires more than increasing teachers' awareness.
The researchers propose a sustained professional development initiative called "Lab Beyond the Classroom." Instead of relying mainly on short training sessions or one-day webinars, the program would provide hands-on experience with microscale Green Chemistry and virtual laboratory activities.
They also propose localized learning modules connecting the 12 Green Chemistry principles with environmental issues in San Juan City, including river waste and energy use.
The proposed implementation framework includes funding for microscale laboratory equipment and greener reagents, integration of digital chemistry databases, and revised laboratory assessment rubrics that give greater importance to waste reduction and atom economy, rather than focusing primarily on experimental yield.
"Bridging this translational gap requires institutionalized interventions," the researchers conclude, emphasizing sustained professional development, localized problem-based learning modules, and assessment reforms that reward Green Chemistry design.
The finding provides an important lesson for science education: environmental knowledge is valuable, but knowledge by itself does not guarantee sustainable behavior. Teachers also need practical skills, appropriate infrastructure, curriculum flexibility, and institutional support.
What the Findings Mean for Science Education
The research by Jonas Feliciano C. Domingo and Maria Eliza P. Cruz-Ocampo provides a baseline for Green and Sustainable Chemistry education in the Schools Division Office of San Juan City.
For school administrators, the findings point toward investments in laboratory facilities and sustained teacher training. For teachers, the study highlights the importance of moving beyond Green Chemistry vocabulary toward practical redesign of experiments. For students, greener laboratory practices can connect chemistry learning with real environmental problems.
The researchers recommend expanding future studies to larger and more diverse groups of teachers across the Philippines. Long-term research could also determine whether professional development produces lasting changes in classroom practice and student learning.
About the Authors
Jonas Feliciano C. Domingo is affiliated with the Curriculum Implementation Division, Schools Division Office of San Juan City, Philippines. The source article does not state his academic degree or provide a separate formal biography detailing his specific field of expertise beyond his institutional role.
Maria Eliza P. Cruz-Ocampo is affiliated with the College of Education, San Beda University, Manila, Philippines. The source article does not specify her academic degree or provide a separate detailed biography of her area of expertise.
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