INTEGRATION OF CHEMISTRY DISCIPLINES INTO THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS OF TRAINING “ENVIRONMENT” SPECIALISTS

Abstract

The article examines the issue of integrating chemistry disciplines into the training of specialists in the environmental field. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing need for interdisciplinary knowledge to address contemporary environmental challenges that require a solid chemical foundation. The aim of the research is to develop and empirically test a methodology for integrating chemistry courses into the educational programme for “Environment” specialists and to assess its impact on the quality of learning. The scientific novelty lies in the proposed instructional model that combines theoretical chemical knowledge with applied environmental case studies, thereby fostering the formation of students’ chemical–environmental competence. The research methodology is based on a theoretical review of the literature on interdisciplinary teaching and the competence-based approach, as well as on a pedagogical experiment: students in the experimental group were taught according to an integrated chemistry training programme, whereas the control group followed a traditional, discipline-fragmented curriculum. The results demonstrated that the implementation of the integrated methodology led to a statistically significant improvement in student achievement (the mean test score increased by approximately 25% in the experimental group versus about 15% in the control group, p<0.05), as well as to an increase in students’ motivation and confidence in applying chemical knowledge when solving environmental problems. The conclusions indicate that the integration of chemistry disciplines into an environmentally oriented educational programme enhances the quality of training of future environmental protection specialists, enriching their interdisciplinary thinking and readiness for professional activity. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that the proposed methodology can be used in higher education institutions to modernise curricula of environmental specialities, ensuring a closer linkage between theory and practice and the requirements of sustainable development.