Advancing Sustainability Transformations in Lower and Upper Secondary School: Opportunities in Chemistry Curricula in Slovenia

Education for sustainable development (ESD) has gained increasing attention over the last few decades, as human innovation and prevailing consumer practices have driven significant environmental degradation, resource depletion, and social inequalities. ESD must extend beyond the transmission of knowledge; it must shape mindsets, behaviors, and systems. Accordingly, fostering sustainability competencies among primary and secondary school students has become an educational imperative. The aim of the study was to identify opportunities for developing eight key competencies for advancing sustainability transformations within obligatory and elective chemistry curricula in Slovenian lower and upper secondary schools. A qualitative content analysis of chemistry curriculum documents was conducted, focusing on general learning objectives, operational learning objectives, and associated learning outcomes. The results indicate that general learning objectives of the obligatory and elective chemistry curriculum for lower and upper secondary educational levels enable opportunities for the development of all key competencies for advancing sustainability transformation, whereas the extent to which these competencies can be developed through operational learning objectives and learning outcomes varies across chemistry curricula and educational levels. However, despite the existing possibilities in curricula, teachers play a crucial role in their implementation in classrooms. Therefore, it is essential to support teachers in recognising the importance of developing these competencies and meaningfully selecting didactic approaches that foster the development of all key competencies for advancing sustainability transformation within the subjects they teach during pre-service and in-service education.