An analysis of Incident/Accident Reports from the Texas secondary school science safety survey, 2001

School Science and Mathematics, Oct 2003 by Stephenson, Amanda L, West, Sandra S, Westerlund, Julie F, Nelson, Nancy C

Recommendations

The following recommendations are based on the findings of this study and the research findings from the studies previously cited. Immediate actions that can be taken by school districts include:

1. Limit the size of classes to a maximum of 24 students.

2. Maintain a minimum of 60 ft^sup 2^ per student in classroom/lab rooms and 50 ft^sup 2^ in a pure laboratory.

3. Develop and enforce a written safety policy that includes a strict discipline policy for student misbehavior.

4. Employ teachers who are trained in safety and science classroom management.

5. Provide or require annual safety training for science teachers.

The following recommendations are long-term actions that school districts may use in the development of safe science facilities:

1. Care fully calculate the science education needs for the future.

2. Make accurate financial projections that will ensure an adequate funding level to build an adequate number of science rooms.

3. Design safe science facilities.

This study is unique on many levels. Most studies have not used open-ended questionnaires, but used forced-choice instruments to solicit teacher responses about safety. In this study, The Incident/Accident Reports were anonymous, were open-ended, and allowed the participants from a large random sample to report the strengths and weaknesses of safety practices in their science classrooms, laboratories, and field sites without researcher biases. No other safety study of mishaps has been conducted in this manner. As a result, the data collected has allowed us to assess the current conditions under which science classes are taught and to identify specific circumstances that provide some statistically significant linkage with mishaps in school science-related activities. The findings of this study are part of a research base that can be used for decisions on safety policies, new safety standards, and legislation at the school, district, state, and national levels. Such information can aid in science facility design and construction, discipline in science classes, teacher safety training, development and enforcement of safety policies, and teacher preparation and certification.

References

Biehle, J.T., Motz, L.L, & West, S.S. (1999). NSTA guide to school science facilities. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association.

Brennan, J. (1970). An investigation of factors related to safety in the high school science program (Doctoral dissertation, University of Denver). ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 085 179.

Blosser, P. E. (1986). Safety hazards in science classrooms. ERIC/SMEA C Science Education Digest, 1, 2.

Council of State Science Supervisors. (1999). Laboratory safety position statement [On-line]. Available: http://csss.end.org/position.html

Flinn, L. (2002). Chemical and biological catalog reference manual, 2002. Batavia, IL: Flinn Scientific.

Fuller, E. J., Picucci, A.C., Collins, J.W., & Swann, P. (2001). An analysis of laboratory safety in Texas. Austin, TX: Charles A. Dana Center.