Global Competences and Philosophical Implications in Chemical Education.

In Italy, chemistry teaching does not focus enough on the interplay of science, technology and society. A "socio-critical and problem-oriented approach" fitting the Italian school context can promote the essential skills of well-developed scientific literacy, with regard to local issues, public policy-making and global problems. The presented work is related to the study of some daily life products offering different starting points for a critical examination, highlighting ethical issues involved. First year secondary school students deal with these issues by different activities. The learning outcomes show that educating future citizens is more effective if they are helped in relating what they learn in school to their daily lives and global issues. The foundation of global competences is a disciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding of the world. Students do not develop global competence after they gain fundamental disciplinary knowledge and skills. The aching chemistry in a so wide context must not deprive this discipline of its intrinsic peculiarity. Chemistry is the first true systemic science, capable of explaining the inanimate and living world in a non-reductionist and pluralist way. Particular aspects of the System Theory can contribute in developing a corrects vision of chemistry in an interdisciplinary perspective. It follows that students' global competences come out from meeting between science education theories and philosophical tools, properly highlighting the central role of chemistry and its systemic character.