Planning Educational Activities for Learning “Road Safety”

Abstract

In this paper, a project of the local sustainability network of schools in the area of Western Attica (Greece) is described. The subject of this project is “Road Safety”, and it was addressed to third grade pupils of junior high-schools. It has been planned as the result of collaboration between the local Secondary Education Directorate, a few voluntary organizations, some private Vehicle Technical Inspection Centers and the local traffic-police department. This educational activity had been mainly implemented through the teaching and learning method of “experiential learning”. The pupils were divided into groups and attended six workshops that were designed accordingly. The entire process aims at establishing educational activities that in long-term will deal effectively with the acute problem of road safety.

Analysis of Pupils´ Higher and Lower Order Thinking Skills in Traffic Education

“…Bloom's taxonomy:  In the tasks aimed at remembering (No. 1,5,8,11,12,14,16) we tested pupils´ ability to repeat the knowledge, name, mark, fill in missing information, choose correct answer, e.g. : name road signs, mark colours at traffic lights with meaning, etc.…”

“…Road safety has been the subject of educational authorities [1] and of persistent international focus due to the widespread economic and social consequences of road accidents, especially fatalities, among young people [2]. Statistical analyses of road accidents have shown that children aged 5 to 14 are the most vulnerable group.…”