The Evaluation of Safety Strengthening in Transportation for Student Project: A Case Study of Pilot Schools

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to: 1) study learning management plan and extracurricular activities of safety strengthening in transportation project in four pilot schools, 2) evaluate students’ cognition in safety transportation and transit behavior of students in four pilot schools, and 3) analyze conditions leading to project achievement of the schools as well as obstacles. Data were collected by 1) studying documents related to the project, 2) interviewing and focus group discussing with schools’ directors, teachers, who were responsible for the project and other instructors, student representatives, parents, and schools’ bus-drivers, and 3) using questionnaires to collect data from students in grade 5 to grade 9 in four pilot schools. The result found that learning management plan and extracurricular activities related to safety in transportation increased students’ cognition in safety transportation, in which the level of students’ cognition was high. In term of safety transit behavior of students, the result found that students had moderate level of practice. The behavior that the student had high level of practice was stopping and looking left-right before crossing the streets. The behavior that the students had low level of practice was racing bicycles and motorcycles with friends on the roads. Conditions leading to project achievement consisted of schools management, teachers’ awareness, project supported budget, operation tracking, project operation exchanging with other schools and organizations, and working with connection-network outside the schools, such as, parents, communities, and police officers. In part of obstacles in operating the project, the result found that teacher had lots of tasks, besides, they had less skill in designing learning management plan and didn’t have enough cognition on safety transportation for the students, administrative system of the schools where one teacher had to teach several grades or subjects making teachers have to make lesson plans for many grades and subjects in a limit time, and duration of the project was short and not in consistent with the schools’ calendars.