Reflecting Back, Marching Forward: How Do We Ask Quo Vadis? Together in 2026

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Chemical Education
Published
2026-09-08
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6c01283
Primary Topic
Digital Education and Society
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Reflecting Back, Marching Forward: How Do We Ask Quo Vadis? Together in 2026

Samuel Pazicni
Journal of Chemical Education
Digital Education and Society
article

Reflecting Back, Marching Forward: How Do We Ask Quo Vadis? Together in 2026

Samuel Pazicni
article en

Abstract

I n August 1976, chemistry educators gathered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the Fourth Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE).The meeting concluded with Gilbert Haight's address, Quo Vadis Chemical Education?�"Whereare you going, chemical education?"A retrospective in the conference report summarized Haight's address with one memorable sentence: "chemical education will not stay unchanged even if we do."1,2 That sentence remains a compelling reason to ask the question.It frames change not as a possibility but as something chemistry educators must expect.Changes in chemistry, technology, institutions, and the students we teach will continue to reshape what we teach, how we teach it, and who benefits.Declining to consider where chemistry education is going would not preserve the status quo; it would merely leave chemistry educators with less influence over the direction of change.The 1976 conference treated that direction as a collective concern.Its participants asked explicitly, "What Is Our Purpose?What Are Our Aims?"They considered what introductory chemistry should accomplish, whom it should serve, and how courses should respond to disciplinary and social change.A single-session program and short talks followed by substantial discussion helped participants examine those questions together.1,2 Quo vadis? was not simply a request for the next instructional innovation.It asked chemistry educators to consider where their field was going, what purposes should guide it, and how a diverse community might decide those questions together.

Journal of Chemical EducationVol. 103(9)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Digital Education and Society
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