Abstract:

After some years of developing practices intensively in order to promote occupational safety and health (OSH) in the work context, it was concluded that early intervention before employees enter into the labour force can complement, and even be more effective, than prevention carried out once they are working or immediately before they start working, as it is currently done. The assumption underneath is that as soon as a particular behaviour or attitude is adopted along the life-course, the more likely is to be displayed in different contexts and stronger efforts will be posed in continuing performing it. This assumption has led education authorities in some countries to develop health and safety training curriculums both at high school and vocational training levels, although these initiatives have developed unevenly in different countries.

Whereas OSH training in vocational education has become a common practice, introducing it at high school is not without some important difficulties in most countries. Despite new trends of more flexible pathways have emerged, at high school curriculum is generally more directed towards the development of curricular competences rather than to enhancing professional skills. Moreover, teachers generally lack (unless they are linked to professional training offered to acquire a specific profession) enough knowledge in OSH to be able to incorporate it in their daily teaching.

There is a gap in the literature about those factors that can make difficult introducing OSH prevention at high schools as well as those factors that can facilitate it from the point of view of the own teachers who would carry out an intervention of this type. Among these factors, teachers’ beliefs about the importance of OSH training in the school might exert an important influence in their interest and motivation towards being involved. Believes about self-protection and risk prevention towards OSH also affect the performing of the teacher role.

This communication aims to filling this gap by analysing interviews done with teachers belonging to different educational pathways within secondary education (general pathway and vocational training pathway) in different educational centres in the province of Girona (Catalonia, north-east of Spain), where OSH training is compulsory only in vocational education. The objective has been to identify and compare beliefs that can act as barriers or enablers in order to propose actions that go beyond knowledge acquisition on behalf teachers to increase their awareness on the importance of early OSH training and to provide them with tools departing from their needs. An additional objective aims to analyse teachers’ beliefs on how education technologies could foster OSH competences in secondary education as well as to identify new emerging risks raised that should be prevented at school.

This communication is part of the project Mind Safety-Safety Matters funded by Eramus+ program. Ref. 2015-1-PT01-KA201-013082.

Keywords:

Occupational health and safety, teacher's beliefs, high school, vocational training.