Abstract
This study investigated safety in Texas secondary school science laboratory, classroom, and field settings. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) drew a random representative sample consisting of 199 secondary public schools in Texas. Eighty‐one teachers completed Incident/Accident Reports. The reports were optional, anonymous, and open‐ended; thus, they are unique in capturing the strengths and weaknesses of safety practices in school science settings as perceived by the teachers. Pertinent findings include: a) incidents and accidents (mishaps) increased from 8% to 62% as the class enrollment increased from <14 students to >24 students (p < 0.05), b) mishaps increased from 11% to 66% as classroom space per student decreased from >60 ft2 per student to <45 ft2 per student (p < 0.05), c) mishaps increased from 11% to 47% as room size decreased from >1200 ft2 to <800 ft2 (p < 0.05) d) 35% of teachers did not have adequate safety training within the last year, and e) 69% of teachers had a written safety policy. The findings of this study can be used to develop science classroom, lab, and field safety guidelines on a classroom, school, district, state, and a national level.
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