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7.4. Evaluation of design process
This dissertation stemmed from a deep worry about the critical state of the planet (see, e.g.,
Barnosky et al., 2012; Rockström et al., 2009). The by-products of our welfare resulting from
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unsustainable socio-cultural practices are severe issues facing humankind and other species
(Peltonen, 1995, 104
−
105). Thus, this thesis is based on the critical, ”improved-design”
oriented attitude that the world acutely needs more actively participating people, or even
”activists” (Lester et al., 2006). One of the starting points for this design research project
occurred while teaching chemistry in junior high school. It seemed that both ESD practices
and life-cycle thinking skills were inadequately approached in school chemistry (Juntunen,
2011). The need to re-design these areas was value-driven and subjective at first, but it then
evolved into a more research-based direction as more knowledge of the issue was gained.
However, research is never totally neutral, even though it aims to be. Critical and design-
oriented research embraces the following values: responsibility and freedom to foster
ecological integrity and diversity, equality of species, democracy, multi-valued society,
justice and non-violence. These universal values need to overcome the values of victories or
pleasure and they form the basis of this thesis. (Salonen, 2010, 60; Särkkä, 2011, 105)
Another starting point was the expertise of chemistry teachers. They have two kinds of
expertise: they are chemists and pedagogists. They understand that both chemistry science and
the teaching of it should continuously evolve to better meet current needs.
The learning theories that were eventually chosen as the basis of this design research project
were critical contextual learning theories and socio-constructivism (Robottom & Hart, 1993;
Tani, 2008). Marks and Eilks (2009) have previously presented their framework for a socio-
critical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry teaching, which was a helpful starting
point for this dissertation. It seems that through contextual, critical and social approaches,
students have the best opportunities to participate in and influence their own learning process.
The more complex the learning outcomes – higher-order thinking, problem solving, social
skills and attitudes – the greater the effects of social teaching concepts are when compared to
personal teaching concepts (Joyce & Weil, 1986).
The general process of conducting a design research project about ESD is challenging, and the
concept of sustainable development involves extensive and cross-curricular educational
research. This means that the related empirical projects are multifaceted. They are often more
context-bound than generally applicable (Lang et al., 2012). Therefore, this design process
involved an extensive and cross-curricular theoretical problem analysis (see Juntunen, 2013).
The roles of the participants were clear throughout the design process. The researcher was an
expert chemistry teacher, who planned and coordinated the research and reported the findings.
The chemistry teachers who participated in the in-service training courses designed novel
educational approaches for their own needs and tested them in their schools.
The new knowledge generated in this study is limited. For instance, our analysis of the
different types of arguments used by the students offers only one lens through which
argument quality may be viewed in terms of its effectiveness. In the scope of this study, the
students could not look for a consensus. Therefore, one limitation of this study lies in the
goals set for the argumentation tasks. In contexts where students value other perspectives as a
means of refining and elaborating their own understanding of science, they would construct
deeper knowledge. Instead of the competitive debate used in this study, the students could
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have been engaged in two-sided reasoning and made to look for a consensus together when
constructing knowledge. This would have helped the students to form more sophisticated
arguments (Garcia-Mila et al., 2013).
Despite the minor challenges faced during the design process, this dissertation succeeds in
structuring new interesting and useful results for chemistry education. It analyses the general
state of holistic and inquiry-based ESD in chemistry in a cross-curricular way from the
perspectives of teachers, students, pedagogical practices and educational theories. The
conclusions drawn from the results can therefore be used to suggest precise and much-needed
improvements.
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