How green is green chemistry? Exploring the experiences and views of Turkish chemistry teachers on practical activities including green and sustainable chemistry

Abstract Learning chemistry involves comprehension of chemical phenomena through practical activities. Chemistry teachers generally take various factors, including conditions and context, into consideration when integrating practical activities. In recent years, with the aim of having a more sustainable world, there has been a notable shift towards the adoption of green and sustainable chemistry (GSC) in practical activities. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the experiences and views of chemistry teachers in Türkiye, regarding the practical activities, in general, and the ones focusing on GSC. In this mixed-method study, 206 chemistry teachers working at various types of high schools completed the International Teacher Survey on GSC Practical Activities. Subsequently, focus group interviews were conducted with teachers employed at the same school type. The survey responses were analyzed descriptively, and the focus group interviews were subjected to content analysis for further comparison. The findings indicated that chemistry teachers at science and private high schools implement practical activities more frequently than teachers at other schools. The challenges teachers face when conducting practical activities were categorized as infrastructural, systemic, teacher-based , and student-based . Finally, most teachers lacked knowledge and skills regarding GSC, and adopted environment-centered, economy-centered and belief-centered perception views in choosing GSC activities.