High school chemistry teachers’ attitudes toward incorporating environmental education topics into the chemistry curriculum in Israel

1 Introduction

Education serves as a fundamental mechanism for nurturing environmental awareness and cultivating a culture of sustainable development. ¹ Environmental education plays a critical role in addressing technological advances, consumerism, and urbanization when they threaten ecological stability and human survival. ² Environmental education extends beyond the simple delivery of knowledge but rather is vital to shaping environmental values, fostering deeper understanding, and developing the essential skills for responsible environmental behavior. ³

The final report of the Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education defined environmental education as a means to empower individuals of all ages and backgrounds to internalize values and acquire practical knowledge. The goal is to enable students to recognize environmental problems and contribute to environmental preservation. ^{4 , 5}

Environmental education has evolved from the traditional belief that knowledge alone leads to action ⁶ to emphasizing the complex interplay of cognitive, social, and behavioral factors that influence environmental responsibility. To cultivate a sense of environmental stewardship, students need to develop a comprehensive understanding of ecosystems, critically analyze environmental challenges, and acquire problem-solving skills to address them effectively. ⁷ The declining awareness of human impact on the environment has become a growing concern, ⁸ underscoring the need for environmental education. ⁹ Lubomira ¹⁰ pointed to environmental education as a key instrument for transforming attitudes and ensuring a sustainable future. The literature on environmental education, as well as broader international policy frameworks, particularly target 4.7 of the UN Agenda 2030 include the goal that by 2030 all learners should acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to promote sustainable development. ^{6 , 11} Teachers’ perceptions and attitudes can serve as key mediating factors: they determine whether curricular intentions are effectively translated into classroom practices. ¹² However, there is scant research on teachers’ attitudes toward incorporating environmental topics into chemistry teaching, despite the fact that these attitudes constitute the preconditions for the meaningful integration of environmental education into the chemistry curriculum.

As a scientific discipline, chemistry holds immense potential for advancing sustainability. Jegstad and Sinnes ¹³ argued that chemistry education should empower students to analyze chemical processes and assess their environmental and societal implications. To make chemistry more relevant and engaging, instruction should integrate real-world issues such as pollution, renewable energy, and water quality. Incorporating environmental education into chemistry curricula can also encourage students to explore controversial topics such as the use of plastics, energy production, and pollution in terms of their ethical, scientific, and social impact. By adopting green chemistry principles that emphasize safer products and processes, students can connect core chemical concepts with sustainability initiatives including waste reduction and the development of environmentally friendly materials. ¹⁴

Despite the recognized importance of environmental education, it remains underrepresented in school curricula worldwide. ¹⁵ Icoz ¹⁶ noted that the essential topics for environmental education are pollution, global warming, biogeochemical cycles, energy use, and environmental solutions such as recycling and renewable energy. To instill values and foster environmental responsibility, environmental education should be deeply embedded in school curricula rather than be treated as an optional supplement. ¹⁷ Hands-on, context-based activities are particularly effective in increasing student engagement and deepening students’ understanding of environmental concepts. ¹⁸

The integration of green and sustainable chemistry into education requires a broader shift toward Education for Sustainable Development, which necessitates substantial reforms in curriculum design and the development of educational materials. It also requires enhanced teacher training to incorporate scientific, social, ethical, and environmental perspectives into chemistry education. ¹⁶

While some studies have advocated for a separate environmental education curriculum, others have argued for its integration within broader science instruction. In addition, education must extend beyond classroom walls, by fostering community engagement and building environmental literacy. ¹⁹ Although environmental and sustainability education are acknowledged in policy documents, they remain non-mandatory and largely dependent on individual teachers’ commitment. To enhance their impact, teachers must be empowered as “street-level policy entrepreneurs,” who are capable of shaping educational practices and promoting sustainability initiatives within schools and communities. Ultimately, environmental and sustainability education serves not only as a tool for teaching about environmental issues but also as a mechanism for broader social transformation. It positions educators at the forefront of integrating sustainability values into education and society. ²⁰

Chemistry teachers, in particular, can act as “gatekeepers” of curricular content by deciding which environmental topics are emphasized and how they are framed to students. ¹³ This requires structural reforms and increased teacher support to ensure that chemistry education contributes meaningfully to sustainability. ²¹ By linking chemistry education to pressing environmental challenges, students gain a deeper understanding of science while developing a strong commitment to sustainable practices. Environmental education is often regarded as a prerequisite stage for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), as it provides the foundational knowledge, values, and attitudes upon which broader sustainability competencies can be built. ¹² Thus examining chemistry teachers’ attitudes toward incorporating environmental education constitutes an essential first step toward advancing more comprehensive approaches to sustainability education.

2 Methods

In this qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with high school chemistry teachers to explore their attitudes towards the incorporation of environmental education into the chemistry curriculum in Israel. Thematic content analysis was used to process the data via an inductive approach. Validity and reliability were ensured through member checking, expert review, and cross-validation with the official curriculum.

3 Findings

4 Discussion

Research has consistently highlighted the crucial role teachers play in fostering environmental literacy by incorporating environmental education into their classroom practices. ²⁸ Teachers serve as key agents in curriculum development and implementation by influencing how educational reforms translate into classroom instruction. ²⁹ The findings revealed that although the chemistry teachers were cognizant of the strong links between chemistry and environmental issues, they all indicated that environmental education is only marginally incorporated into the curriculum. This disparity between theory and practice underscores a more general challenge in science education, where environmental topics are acknowledged as important but remain peripheral without explicit curricular guidance. ^{19 , 21}

The teachers reported that while chemistry naturally covers issues such as pollution, energy, and global warming, these are mostly confined in the curriculum to electives such as Environmental Chemistry, which many students are never exposed to. The absence of explicit curricular guidance reduces opportunities to link chemistry with real-life challenges, thus diminishing students’ engagement and understanding of sustainability. ³⁰ Teachers are further constrained by the pressure of the matriculation exams, which discourages them from deviating from the prescribed syllabus. ¹¹ A lack of continuing education programs for teachers and practical resources such as labs also hinders effective integration, ³¹ leaving efforts inconsistent and highly dependent on individual initiatives. The observed preference for topics with an explicit chemical anchor – and the hesitancy toward interdisciplinary themes – suggests that the data captured teachers’ attitudes and decision logics, not a comprehensive enactment of environmental education. In other words, teachers’ perceptions functioned as a prerequisite layer that shaped whether and how environmental education might later be embedded within chemistry instruction.

Clearly, chemistry is fundamentally linked to real-life environmental problems, and green chemistry principles offer essential approaches for addressing these challenges. ^{14 , 30} Therefore, ignoring broader environmental topics prevents students from understanding the connections between chemical processes and their societal and ecological impacts, such as pollution and resource depletion. The teachers’ focus on “chemically explicit” topics also reflected curricular constraints and exam pressures ^{11 , 16} . Without clear curricular guidelines, the teachers were reluctant to incorporate interdisciplinary topics, fearing they might compromise students’ exam success. Nonetheless, some teachers in the study advocated for a broader approach, and emphasized that chemistry should address all environmental issues, not just those directly related to chemical reactions. This perspective supports the view that chemistry education must equip students to tackle complex sustainability challenges, including industrial pollution and material consumption. ^{13 , 32}

Previous research has shown that teachers generally have positive attitudes toward environmental education but often face practical challenges in incorporating it into subject-specific instruction. ¹⁶ Similar to the current study, some studies have found that teachers who incorporate environmental topics into chemistry do so primarily on their own initiative, since the chemistry curriculum provides little structured guidance, and that these initiatives lead to more positive attitudes toward environmental education. ²⁴ Others have reported that when environmental education is treated as a fundamental value, teachers readily incorporated sustainability topics into their chemistry lessons even in the absence of explicit curricular directives. ¹⁷

A gender-related pattern also emerged in how teachers approached these challenges. Male teachers were generally more proactive and willing to extend instruction to include environmental and sustainability issues, even when not mandated, in attempts to emphasize civic responsibility and interdisciplinary connections. Female teachers, while supportive of the importance of environmental education, tended to adhere more closely to the prescribed curriculum, citing exam preparation and time limitations as barriers. These results contrast with research showing that female teachers often express stronger environmental concerns and advocacy. ^{23 , 33} The current findings may suggest a gap between attitudes and classroom practice: although the female teachers valued environmental education, they may have felt less able to diverge from structured demands. Male teachers appeared more confident in managing open-ended or interdisciplinary discussions. Studies suggest that gender may influence teachers’ self-efficacy and instructional abilities, particularly in areas such as problem-solving and lesson design. ³⁴ This may explain the differences in the way environmental topics were incorporated. Given the relatively small sample here (33 teachers: 18 females and 15 males), the observed gender differences can only provide a preliminary indication that teacher background may influence the extent and type of environmental education integration. Further studies with larger and more diverse samples are needed.

The teachers expressed varied views on the best topics to integrate into chemistry instruction, though all agreed on their general relevance. Topics such as air pollution (73 %) and global warming were widely accepted, but issues such as hazardous waste (45 %), biodiversity, and consumption patterns were perceived as less aligned with core chemistry content. ^{16 , 35} This trend reflects a preference for integrating environmental education only when it fits naturally within traditional chemistry topics – such as industrial chemistry, acids and bases, or energy – while broader or interdisciplinary themes are often excluded due to curriculum constraints and exam pressures. ^{21 , 24} Nevertheless, some teachers also described using creative integration strategies such as linking water pollution to chemical solutions or connecting solid waste to polymers, thus highlighting the potential of teaching chemistry through real-life environmental contexts. ¹⁴ However, in the absence of clear curricular support, such efforts remain inconsistent and largely reliant on individual initiative. ³⁶

Table 3 indicated a clear relationship between years of teaching and willingness to incorporate environmental education into chemistry lessons. Teachers with more than 15 years of experience were notably more proactive in incorporating environmental topics and took greater initiative to enhance their students’ environmental understanding. These results are consistent with findings suggesting that teachers at advanced stages of professional development are more open to pedagogical innovation, motivated by continuous learning, and more receptive to curriculum changes, ³⁷ although other studies suggest that support for environmental education may decline with increasing teaching experience ¹⁷ because experienced teachers often manifest lower self-efficacy and less enthusiasm toward change that makes them less likely to adopt student-centered approaches or collaborate on curricular innovations. Less experienced teachers may demonstrate greater confidence, enthusiasm, and willingness to embrace reform. ³⁸ These findings highlight the need for professional development programs that are tailored to teachers’ varying career stages to support their involvement in educational change. The influence of age and teaching experience on attitudes toward curricular reform may not be as strong as commonly assumed, indicating that other factors may mediate this relationship. ³⁹

Studies suggest that individuals with higher levels of education tend to engage more actively in pro-environmental behaviors, both in private and public contexts. ⁴⁰ Table 4 showed that teachers with a master’s degree demonstrated higher awareness and a stronger commitment to embedding environmental topics within their teaching than the teachers with a bachelor’s degree and were also more proactive in identifying and suggesting meaningful connections between chemistry content and environmental issues. Higher educational attainment has been associated with more environmentally responsible behavior, likely due to increased exposure to sustainability-related knowledge. ⁴¹ Education also enhances individuals’ sensitivity to social and environmental challenges, thereby promoting environmentally conscious attitudes. ⁴²

5 Recommendations

The growing emphasis on environmental education in schools has led to an increased demand for teachers who are equipped to effectively incorporate environmental topics into their instruction. ⁴³ In the U.S., teachers have played a central role in introducing environmental education, and their attitudes have significantly influenced the extent and type of integration into classroom practice. ⁴⁴ While chemistry is defined by the Israel Ministry of Education as a multidisciplinary field that connects various scientific domains, ²² the findings indicate that although the teachers broadly acknowledged the importance of environmental education, its integration into chemistry remains uneven and was often contingent on individual teacher initiative.

To address these challenges, we recommend:

1. Curriculum reform – Incorporate environmental education into core chemistry topics, not just electives.

2. Teacher training – Provide professional development to equip teachers with strategies for incorporating environmental topics.

3. Clear guidelines – Develop structured guidance on seamlessly incorporating environmental education.

4. Interdisciplinary teaching – Encourage connections between chemistry, environmental issues, and societal contexts.

5. Balancing exam preparation – Explore ways to incorporate environmental education without compromising exam willingness.

6 Limitations

This study has several limitations. The sample size of 33 high school chemistry teachers may not represent the broader population of chemistry educators. The findings were based on semi-structured interviews which are subject to personal biases, experiences, and perceptions that may not correspond to actual classroom practices or be generalizable to other contexts. Although the teachers frequently mentioned time constraints and the rigid structure of the curriculum as obstacles to incorporating environmental education, classroom observations are needed to validate the actual impact of these constraints.