Microsoft Word juntunen väitös docx

Articles I 
and 
II
). In the 21
st
century, 
students require functional scientific literature and skills (Fensham, 2004; Zeidler et al., 2005) 
that include sustainability competencies (Tytler, 2012), socio-scientific reasoning skills 
(Sadler, 2004), active citizenship (Zeidler et al., 2005), systems thinking (Hogan, 2002) and 
environmental literacy (Yavez, Goldman & Peer, 2009). All of these are in line with the goals 
of scientific literacy for all (Holbrook, 2010) and they are all present in this project-based 
LCA teaching approach. It seems that product LCA can serve as an example of a new way to 
organise chemistry education in the 21
st
century. 
In practice, studying life-cycle thinking can be a social investigation of the raw materials and 
features of a production chain. The ecological backpack (material input per service unit), 
ecological footprint, water footprint or carbon footprint can all be considered as a part of LCA 
(Bulte, 2006; Mattila & Antikainen, 2010). Water quality experiments can be broadened into 
discussions about the use of water (Bulte, 2006). The chemical solutions for recycling 
products or raw materials can be brainstormed together with students. Here, ethical questions 

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can also be asked about the use of water in the making of different kinds of consumer 
products, for example. The life-cycle of plastics is also a suitable topic for secondary school 
chemistry (Bulte, 2006; Burmeister & Eilks, 2012; Johanson, 2010). 
The dimensions of life-cycle thinking are in line with STSE education (Pedretti & Nazir, 
2011; Zeidler et al., 2005): 
i)
 Societal –
Which product am I interested in? Where and under what conditions is 
the product manufactured? How much does it cost and why? How is the product 
price related to the product’s sustainability? What do environmental certifications 
mean? 
ii)
 Technological – 
How is a product manufactured? Where will it end up? 
iii)
 Science and chemistry – 
What materials is the product made of? What resources 
are consumed? Which chemicals are used? What kind of pollution is created?
iv) 
Environment – 
How does the product affect the environment, economy and 
general wellbeing? What environmental problems are caused by its production?
The goal is to develop and rouse holistic thinking in students. At a simplified level, LCA may 
be applied to cross-curricular thinking in the context of consumer products (Wilmes & 
Howarth, 2009). It enables the students to analyse economical and energy and resource 
policy-related aspects as a part of global material flow. The discussion may concern 
materialistic consumer habits and their unsustainable connections to the oppression of nature 
and people. (Kahn, 2008; Särkkä, 2011, 95)
Understanding complex systems is part of 21
st
century scientific literacy. Science curricula 
(Finnish National Board of Education, 2015; 2014; 2003) constitute a framework, which 
highlights the importance of teaching about different systems and the skills needed to analyse 
them (Hogan, 2002). A LCA (see Section 3.1.2.) is an example of a system.