From Knowledge to Literacy: Exploring the Theoretical Interface between Scientific Understanding and Chemistry Education

Abstract

Students’ scientific education in basic education has increasingly been examined from two complementary perspectives: the construction of scientific knowledge and chemical literacy. The former focuses on cognitive and formative processes involved in learning scientific concepts and practices while the latter emphasizes the ability to interpret, communicate, and apply chemical knowledge to social, environmental and technological contexts. This paper is a literature review which aimed at exploring interfaces, convergences and pedagogical potential of both perspectives in chemistry education. Eighty-five publications comprise a sample that was identified through searches in academic databases and institutional repositories. After preliminary screening and abstract review, 66 sources were selected for in-depth reading. Out of them, 45 papers were retained for the final analysis, based on their alignment with the theoretical axes of this study. Finally, 25 papers were selected to compose the Results and Discussion section due to their strong conceptual and methodological contributions. The analysis reveals that, although both perspectives have been frequently addressed by the literature, few studies explicitly integrate them. Findings suggest that fostering a more consistent articulation between scientific knowledge construction and chemical literacy may enrich pedagogical practices to make them more meaningful and contextualized and contribute to the development of scientific and critical citizenship in chemistry education.