The modern development of higher chemical education is characterized by the transition to a competency-based model of specialist training, the digitalization of the educational process, and the need to integrate theoretical learning with advanced laboratory practice. The article addresses the urgent methodological problem of developing the professional laboratory competence of future chemistry teachers on the example of teaching the physico-chemical regularities of determining the hydrogen potential (pH) of sulfate, aqueous systems.

The aim of this study is to develop and empirically validate a methodology for fostering the laboratory competence of future chemists based on the integration of digital pH-metry, mathematical modeling methods, and virtual chemical simulators.

The methodological framework of the study is informed by systemic and activity-based approaches, as well as principles of instructional environment design. The research employed methods of pedagogical design, conceptual modeling, and a systematic literature review extracted from Scopus and Web of Science databases based on rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria.

The study resulted in the development of a four-component instructional model comprising theoretical-conceptual, instrumental-technological, digital-modeling, and applied-ecological tiers. The empirical experiment involved 66 chemistry education undergraduate students from University (experimental group n=38, control group n=28). Statistical analysis of the assessment data validated the high efficiency of the proposed methodology: the level of conceptual understanding of ionic equilibria and instrumental measurement precision within the experimental cohort reached 85%, demonstrating a statistically significant gap compared to the control group (58%).