Beyond the Deficit Model: Organic Chemistry Educators' Beliefs and Practices about Teaching Green and Sustainable Chemistry

The rise of global environmental issues has stressed the importance of sustainability and green chemistry teachings. Nevertheless, these topics remain largely untouched in most post-secondary organic chemistry lecture courses. This article investigates the barriers to integrating green and sustainable chemistry into organic chemistry classrooms and was guided by questions like: Do organic chemistry educators have knowledge of green or sustainable chemistry, do they think it is relevant to their field or courses, and do they have resources to make change? A series of one-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 active faculty members in the field of organic chemistry at Canadian universities. Qualitative data analysis was carried out on interview transcripts using an inductive thematic approach and the application of the Framework Method. Major themes of content, structure, resources, management, and individuals were identified at the intersection of green chemistry, organic chemistry, and general barriers to educational reform. These findings will ultimately be used to inform curriculum development and supplement the creation of open-educational sources for organic chemistry.