What is Safety Education? - Goals, Importance, Principles

 

Some degree of hazard is associated with every form of activity. Therefore, the highest degree of injury prevention can be achieved only by careful, painstaking attention to safety in every form of activity carried on in an environment. Being safe and healthy should actually be the business of everybody.

We all want to stay safe where we live, work, learn and play. Injury prevention values should be taught at any given time. In this post, you will be exposed to, what safety education is, its goals, importance and principles.

In the article, you should be able to say what safety education is, mention the goals of safety education, state the importance of safety education, itemize the principles of safety education and explain what safety education entails.

 

Also read: What are the Theories of Accident Prevention?

What is Safety Education?   

Safety education implies education for safe living. Safe living in this age of ICT has become very complex. The complexity of modern living demands that man be more conscious of the environment so as to tame it safe for living. Life is the most important game that is ever played.

There are rules for playing it safely and well. If you follow the rules, you have a higher chance of reaching your goal. A risky shortcut may cut a life short. Each time you fail to follow the rule of safety, you may be taking a big risk with your life.

Before discussing safety education, attention will be given to safety. Safety is the state of being 'safe'. The condition of being protected from harm or other non-desirable outcomes.  

Safety is the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Safety education could mean the education of individuals on various safety practices at work, school and on the road and in daily life.

It is also seen as the recognition and avoidance of hazards causing illness, injury, disability or death in the workplace. Safety education could be referred to as a planned programme to provide knowledge, skills and attitude and to adopt certain practical measures to enable an individual to live safely and avoid accidents.

In fact, it is the means and process of taking precautions to avoid an accident. It is the rules, means and methods adopted and followed for safe living.

 

Goals of Safety Education

The main goals of safety education are:

1. The development of positive safety habits.

2. The prevention of accidents.

3. The eradication of hazards in the environment.

4. The development of appropriate attitudes and awareness of situations that have the potentials for an accident.

5. The acquisition of knowledge and skills for dealing with accident outcomes.

6. The recognition of the relationship between safety on one hand, and success and happiness on the other.

 

Importance of Safety Education

The following are the importance of safety education.

1. It helps to provide a safe and healthy living.

2. It protects people from premature and unexpected death.

3. It helps in promoting longevity.

4. It helps to create a civilized and progressive society.

5. It helps to build a healthy and successive personality.

6. It helps to protect people from unnecessary expenses.

 

Principles of Safety Education

The following are the principles of safety education:

1. Safety education should be taught in schools and community settings. Everybody in the school and community should have good knowledge of safety education.

2. Active approaches (interactive, experimental, focus group discussions, etc.) should be used to teach and learn safety education in school and community settings. Learners should be engaged in problem-solving independently or in a group.

3. Young people should be involved in the real decision on safety in order to help them stay safe. Young people may be involved in designing or participating in surveys, choosing which activities that they want to take part in. They can be involved in peer education projects, identification of hazards, participating in risk assessment and being part of actions to control or manage risk to themselves and others.

4. Teaching and learning strategies to address learner's needs should reflect the age and developmental stage of the learner, take account of social and cultural needs and the effects of gender on safety related behavior and learning.

Strategies to assess learning needs can involve an open ended form of questioning, informal discussion, mind mapping, brain-showers and circle time. They may also include more structured formats such as surveys, focus group discussion, interviews or draw and write up activities.

5. Teach safety as part of a comprehensive personal social and health curriculum. A comprehensive personal social and health curriculum helps children and young people learn specific and transferable skills and knowledge in a wide range of circumstances, but with attention to feelings, skills, attitudes, values and attributes. A comprehensive personal social and health curriculum will offer pupils a specific time and place to learn about being healthy and staying safe.

6. Use realistic and relevant settings and resources. Real-life data and examples help to engage the young and to challenge misconceptions.

7. Work in partnership. Develop links with supporting agencies such as police, fire and rescue local authorities and educational charities. Work with parents/careers and members of the wider community by seeking their views, providing information and guidance, and involving them in developing and implementing solutions.

8. Address known risk and protective factors. Risk and protective factors can be anything that is associated with a greater or lesser probability of a child or young person experiencing harm. 

Risk factors are not static and can be divided into several domains: individual (e.g. knowledge or skill) school (e.g. policy) peer group (e.g. attitudes) family (e.g. parental rules) and community (e.g. crime). An understanding of risk and protective factors can help those designing and delivering safety education resources to focus on wider aspects of injury prevention and personal safety.

9. Address psychosocial aspects of safety e.g. confidence, resilience, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Psychosocial risk and protective factors are individual characteristics that may predispose children to injury or to being a victim of bullying, violence or abuse. Psychosocial aspects of behavior operate dynamically with environmental factors, reinforcing the importance of incorporating individual protective factors (like confidence, resilience, self-esteem, and self-efficacy) within a whole school and whole community approach.

10. Adopt positive approaches which model and reward safe behavior within a safe, supportive environment. It is helpful to identify the short and long term benefits of maintaining safe and healthy behavior, and of modifying behavior that is harmful to health.

 

What Safety Education

Entails Safety education or measures put in place to avoid needless accidents at home, school, workplaces and road:

1. Adequate and proper protection to prevent and avoid accidents at home, school, workplaces and road.

2. All and sundry especially the children should be cautioned against the use of inflammable like matches, kerosene, petrol, etc. and if any of the materials will be used, it must be supervised by an experienced adult.

3. Extinguishers should be put in the appropriate places at home, school, and workplace and in vehicles for arresting sudden emergencies of fire outbreaks.

4. Make an all-out effort to see that ladders, staircases, buildings are fit enough for use and where repairs are desirable; this should be done without further delay.

5. Keep all drugs out of the reach of children as a tendency in undermining their ability to use them could be devastating.

6. Make regular inspecting of the home, school, workplace and vehicles, premises structures, state of vehicles and roads to ensure their fitness for uses.

7. Safety equipment should be worn especially in industries and roads while appropriate warning signs should be placed around sports grounds especially swimming pools. When lifeguards are not available, pupils should not be allowed to enter the pool, seat belts, helmets, shoes, pads, warning signs, etc. should be used on various occasions when undertaking relevant sports activities.

8. All stakeholders in the promotion of safety should mutually respect the right of others in the use of the roads highways, equipment, etc.

9. Avoid driving or working when physically and mentally fatigued or feeling sleepy, regardless of pressure or demand, for life is vital than material acquisition.

10.  For long-distance drivers, stop at designated spots at intervals for refreshments and relaxation before embarking on the journey again. No one can successfully cheat nature, prevention is better than cure.

11. All students, housewives, workers and drivers should be physically fit, mentally and emotionally healthy and socially adjusted when performing their works.

12. Adequate sanction or reprimand should be spelt out for erring individuals who violate regulations of safety. This measure will checkmate prospective violators of basic and standard rules and regulations on safety.

 

Conclusion on what is Safety Education? - Goals, Importance, Principles 

Regardless of modernization, accidents generally do not just happen. They are caused by men and women, young and old, literate and illiterate drivers. The causes of accidents can be categorized into human errors and mechanical faults.

Having gone through this unit on types of accidents, their causes and prevention, you would be able to play safely at any time.

This article presented safety education. You have learnt the following: The goals, importance, principles and what safety education entails. In this regard, we should remember that Education is the best and most enduring preventive measure and strategy.