Revisiting Chemophobia through a Social Justice Lens

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 101; no. 7; pp. 2596 - 2601
• Main Authors: Palmer, Alexander L., Sarju, Julia P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 09-07-2024; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Attitudes; Chemistry; College students; Critical thinking; Education; Evidence Based Practice; Health care; Literacy; Organic Chemistry; Science education; Scientific Literacy; Social Justice; High School; Misconceptions; Public Understanding/Outreach; Learning Theories; General Public; Minorities in Chemistry
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c01103

Availability of accessible and accurate scientific information directly affects individuals’ well-being and their capacity to act with agency. However, chemophobia, a negative, fearful, or distrustful attitude toward chemistry and/or chemicals, is common. This contributes to reduced chemistry literacy, science denial, and disinformation that interacts with both chemistry-specific inequalities and wider societal injustices. The development of critical thinking and chemistry literacy skills is integral to chemistry education and allows individuals to identify and challenge misinformation and disinformation. However, access and experiences of education are not equal, and individuals’ fears of chemistry and chemicals can influence their ability to adapt to, or mitigate the impact of, misleading or malicious content. This commentary provides an outline of the literature and evidence-based practices to challenge chemophobia. We take a social justice-informed approach, highlighting the key role of alternative conceptions and societal inequities. Armed with this information, chemistry educators can challenge alternative conceptions in inclusive ways, building learners’ confidence in interrogating scientific information. We call for greater focus and scholarship in this area so that as a community we can empower individuals to confidently and critically engage with chemistry.