Integrating Values Education into Undergraduate Chemistry Curricula: A Review

Abstract This study systematically explores integration pathways and assessment methods for values education in undergraduate chemistry curricula to facilitate effective implementation. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework, we screened and analyzed 63 peer-reviewed publications from 2016 to 2025 indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and two targeted chemistry education journals, focusing exclusively on values education in undergraduate chemistry courses. The results reveal that scientific thinking (encompassing scientific inquiry, technical literacy, engineering design, and mathematical thinking) emerges as the most extensively researched domain, followed by ethical and ideal belief education. As a complementary perspective, chemical comprehensive literacy covers eight dimensions, including thinking ability, learning ability, innovative practical ability, and social ethical responsibility, with thinking ability as the focus. However, academic integrity and cultural literacy remain under-studied. In terms of values education integration carriers, experiments serve as the primary carrier, followed by chemistry outline, open-ended questions, calculation, and case-based learning, while innovative tools such as AI-assisted methods remain underutilized. Regarding assessment practices, final investigation assessments dominate, followed by evaluation tools and pre- and postinvestigations. Additionally, most included studies lack a stratified analysis of intervention effects on marginalized student groups. These findings highlight critical gaps in current value education implementation, emphasizing the need for expanded research on neglected domains and validated assessment systems to advance value education in chemistry curricula.