Reducing Occupational Safety Incidents as a Precondition to Teaching Technology in Special Education

Abstract

Considering the safety culture is one of the key elements in teaching technology. However, different occupational safety risks, as well as disturbance and violence situations, are encountered in the safety culture of schools. A reporting culture that is a natural part of the staff’s activities in high security areas has not yet emerged in schools. This study looked at the school safety from the staff’s occupational safety point of view. The aim of the study is to provide new information on the type of incidents, like hazards, accidents and near-misses, that occur to the staff in the field of special education, in order to understand how to prevent these to facilitate technology education in the future. The research question in the study is what kind of incidents occur to the staff in a special education school. The data (N=60 incidents) was collected into a digital risk management system within one year in 2019. The data was analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. During the analysis and categorization process three sub-questions were formed: where did the safety incidents happen, which part of the body was hurt and in what way did the pupils behave violently? The results present an analysis of what kind of incidents happened at one comprehensive school in special education within a year. The results will help in incident management and safety culture management within occupational safety in special education. The results can be applied to reducing occupational safety incidents as a precondition to teaching technology in special education.