Communicating Safety Consciousness and Levels of Competence among Grade 10 Students in a Public High School in Pampanga Philippines

Abstract

Introduction

Like any organization, schools are workplaces that students are exposed to. Safety should be to ensure school safety. Filipinos lack attention to safety details (Subido, 2010). Every child has the right to be safe and right to a safe environment (United Nations, 2016). This study determined how safety in school as the intended behavior has been changed.

Methods

Grade 10 students of a public high school in Pampanga, were surveyed to determine their sources of information about school safety and its influence on their knowledge, attitude, and practice. Premised on the Theory of Planned Behavior by Azjen. This study employed a survey research design to determine how safety consciousness was communicated in school and how did this affect the level of competence of Grade 10 students. Survey to determine the knowledge, attitude and safety practices of the students in school.

Results

Resultsof the study showed communication materials on safety made available in the school included learning modules, textbooks, programs, and Department of Education (DepEd) websites. The Internet was the top source of information on safety. The most common information on safety for the students includes earthquake drill, disaster reduction, and occupational safety and health. Despite having a moderate to a high level of knowledge on safety, though, there were some issues in terms of communicating safety signs to the students since not everyone was familiar with these basic safety signs in the school. The students also had a high practice level in school safety but with emphasis on the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Practice should be 100% in all areas since safety is a very important requirement for all students to observe.

Discussions

Grade 10 students in this public high school have been exposed to various communication sources about safety with the Internet as the top source of information that could have influenced their knowledge, attitude, and practice of safety measures in school. It can be surmised that communicating safety in school through the various platforms such as learning modules, textbooks, periodical examinations, laboratory, programs, and DepEd websites have not been very successful in conveying safety to students. Safety measures need to be addressed such as safety cultivation and safe culture for both teachers and students in schools. The results of this study are useful evidence in developing practical methods for improving school safety.