Brita Somerkoski
(Department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Turku, Finland)

 

 

Abstract: Aims: Teaching and learning are under constant change creating new tasks for teachers. The curriculum for basic education is one of the governmental directives of the educational system in Finland. In the curricula of basic education one of the seven cross-curricular themes is “Safety and Traffic”. The study analyses learning outcomes of this theme in order to further develop forms of safety pedagogics in Finnish schools. Methods: A learning outcome assessment was conducted for the 9th grade (n = 1198) students. Results: The study indicates that in the assessment of the learning outcome in the Finnish basic education the level of knowledge in the cross-curricular theme “Safety and Traffic” was fairly good but the ability to act was below average. Discussion: Firstly, this study indicates that schools need support in the process of making safety culture more visible and practical and secondly, safety pedagogics points of view should be considered a dynamic, ongoing and sustainable process of acts rather than a stable condition of plans or programs.

 

 

Key words: learning outcome, safety pedagogics, curriculum, cross-curricular theme, unintentional injuries