Integrating Environmental Sustainability Goals into Green Chemistry Education: A Critical Narrative Review of Curricula, Pedagogies, Learning Outcomes and Research Gaps
Rosemary Chikaodili Ugonwa
*
Department of Science Education, University of Port Harcourt Choba, PMB 5323, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Leo Chigbu Osuji
Department of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, University of Port Harcourt Choba, PMB 5323, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Chemistry is implicated in many of the environmental pressures that global sustainability agendas seek to reverse, and chemistry education is expected to prepare learners to design, evaluate and govern chemical practice accordingly. Green chemistry education has expanded considerably since the formulation of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry, yet the extent to which explicit environmental sustainability goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, planetary boundaries and education for sustainable development competencies, are translated into curricula, teaching practices and assessed learning remains uncertain. This critical narrative review examines how such goals have been integrated into green chemistry education at secondary, tertiary and teacher-education levels, and appraises the strength of the evidence on learning outcomes. Literature published between 1998 and 2026 was identified through structured searching of education-specific and multidisciplinary scholarly indexes, supplemented by citation tracking and institutional sources, and was appraised qualitatively for conceptual alignment, design strength, measurement quality and transparency. The synthesis indicates that curricular integration has progressed mainly through laboratory greening, elective courses and thematic redesign of introductory chemistry, whereas programme-level alignment with sustainability competencies, textbooks and high-stakes assessment remains limited. Pedagogical innovation is extensive and includes metrics-based decision-making, problem-based and case-based learning, socio-scientific inquiry, systems thinking tools and culturally responsive approaches. Reported outcomes are predominantly positive for knowledge of green chemistry principles, attitudes and motivation, but most studies rely on single-site designs, short interventions, self-reported change and instruments of uncertain validity, and some report effect sizes that are difficult to reconcile with the designs used. Evidence for durable behavioural change, transfer to professional decision-making and contributions to sustainability outcomes is scarce. Conceptual tensions also persist between a technically framed, environmentally focused green chemistry and broader, socially inclusive conceptions of sustainability. Progress now depends less on producing further isolated teaching innovations than on aligning goals, curricula, pedagogy and assessment, developing validated measures of sustainability-relevant competencies, and conducting comparative, longitudinal and geographically diverse research. The available evidence supports cautious optimism about short-term learning gains but does not yet demonstrate that green chemistry education reliably produces the transformative competencies that sustainability goals require.
Keywords: Chemistry education, education for sustainable development, sustainable development goals, systems thinking, curriculum alignment, learning outcomes assessment, teacher education, sustainable chemistry