Raising the status of chemistry education

Despite being one of the cornerstones of science, technology and industry, and forming the foundations of the life sciences, it is apparent that chemistry is in decline internationally as an 'enabling science'. This paper, primarily using Australia as an example, explores the components of the problem, identifies the challenges involved in addressing these, and proposes some solutions, which relate to raising the status of chemistry education. Chemistry as a discipline has a bright future - providing that chemistry education can more effectively convey the truly broad scope and integral position of chemistry, not only among the sciences, but also in daily life and human activities in general. This will entail improving its public perception, altering and restructuring the curriculum from primary school through to and including university to emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of chemistry and how the individual chemistry units of study integrate together and with other disciplines, and highlighting the ultimate outcomes and career opportunities.