Health and safety literacy: How do primary school pupils develop the ability to identify and explain risks?
Vol.34,No.1-2(2024)
Current challenges of primary education
This paper focuses on pupils’ health and safety literacy as an integral part of educational objectives in primary education. The respondents of the research were pupils of 1st, 3rd and 5th grade of primary school (N = 387). The aim was to capture and analyse their ability to identify risks and determine their nature in four selected environments (playground, park, city and home) through which three clusters (dangerous objects and animals; people potentially dangerous to children; people in danger) with low or moderate correlation (r < 0.5) interacted. A set of 49-item worksheets developed by the LAGRIS project was used as the research evaluation tool. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistical methods and correlation analysis. Pupils of all ages paid the least attention to people endangering children. Within each item, the age groups differed. While the first graders saw the risk mainly in obvious dangers (dog in the playground, syringes), the fifth graders saw the risk in people behaving contrary to the rules (drunk man drinking alcohol) or in less obvious situations (chemicals within reach of a child in the house). The youngest pupils almost completely ignored spatial risks (a wide window open), which 5th graders paid up to four times as much attention to.
health literacy; health and safety risks; primary education; primary school pupils
Benjamin, D. J., Berger, J. O., Johannesson, M., … Johnson, V. E. (2018). Redefine statistical significance. Nature Human Behavior, 2(1), 6–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0189-z
Bruselius-Jensen, M., Bonde, A. H., & Christensen, J. H. (2017). Promoting health literacy in the classroom. Health Education Journal, 76(2), 156–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896916653429
Çakiroğlu, Ü., & Gökoğlu, S. (2019). Development of fire safety behavioral skills via virtual reality. Computers & Education, 133, 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.01.014
Cloutier, M.-S. (2010). Different school environments, different parental attitudes: Knowledge, beliefs and risk perception regarding child pedestrian road safety in an urban setting. Children, Youth and Environments, 20(1), 257–275. https://doi.org/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.20.1.0257.
Coppens, N. (1986, June). Cognitive characteristics as predictors of children’s understanding of safety and prevention. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 11(2), 189–202. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/11.2.189
ČŠI (2016). Tematická zpráva – Kontrola bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví ve školách a školských zařízeních ve školním roce 2014/2015. ČŠIG-1126/16-G2. Česká školní inspekce.
ČŠI (2023). Kvalita a efektivita vzdělávání a vzdělávací soustavy ve školním roce 2021/2022 – výroční zpráva ČŠI. Česká školní inspekce.
European Union. (2021). Council resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) 2021/C 66/01, 1-21 66 (2021). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32021G0226%2801%29
Gray, J. (2022). Protecting children: Building effective systems. In S. Deb (Ed.), Child safety, welfare and well-being: Issues and challenges (s. 551–564). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9820-0_30
Hejlová, H., Opravilová, E., Uhlířová, J., & Bravená, N. (2016). Nahlížení do světa dětí. Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Pedagogická fakulta.
Helus, Z. (2009). Dítě v osobnostním pojetí: Obrat k dítěti jako výzva a úkol pro učitele i rodiče. Portál.
Hendl, J. (2012). Kvalitativní výzkum: Základní teorie, metody a aplikace. Portál.
Chiang, F. K., Chang, C. H., Hu, D., Zhang, G., & Liu, Y. (2019). Design and development of a safety educational adventure game. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 14(3), 201–219. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v14i03.9268
Janík, T., Maňák, J., Knecht, P., & Němec, J. (2010). Proměny kurikula současné české školy: vize a realita. Orbis Scholae, 4(3), 9–35. https://doi.org/10.14712/23363177.2018.109
Jourdan, D. (2011). Health education in schools: The challenge of teacher training. National Institute for Prevention and Health Education.
Kullmann, K. (2022). Educational and training institutions. In R. Heimann & J. Fritzsche (Eds.), Violence prevention in education, school, and club (s. 155–170). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-38551-4_9
Lobachova I. (2017). The practical value of using Wimmelbuch in teaching english to primary schoolchildren. Science and Education, 2017(5), 147–150. https://doi.org/10.24195/2414-4665-2017-5-25
Lee, S. J. (2022). Meta-analysis on the effects of safety education program school age children. Korean Association For Learner-Centered Curriculum And Instruction, 22(21), 197–208. https://doi.org/10.22251/jlcci.2022.22.21.197
Loudová Stralczynská, B., Chroustová, K., Skřehot, P., Chytrý, V., Bílek, M., & Marádová, E. (2022). Childhood injuries and their sustainable prevention from the perspective of parents and grandparents. Sustainability, 14(17), 10592. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/17/10592
Loudová Stralczynská, B., Chroustová, K., Skřehot, P., Marádová, E., & Chytrý, V. (2023). Low Age Great Risks – současné trendy a přístupy rodičů a učitelů k vzdělávání dětí a žáků v oblasti bezpečnosti a ochrany zdraví: Souhrnná výzkumná zpráva. Praha.
Mareš, J. (2012). Posttraumatický rozvoj člověka. Grada Publishing a.s.
McShane, B. B., Gal, D., Gelman, A., Robert, C., & Tackett, J. L. (2019). Abandon statistical significance. The American Statistician, 73(sup1), 235–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2018.1527253
Miková, Š. (2018). Nejsou stejné: Jak díky Teorii typů porozumět dětem i sami sobě. Mea gnosis.
MŠMT. (2020). Strategie vzdělávací politiky České republiky do roku 2030+. Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy.
Murakoshi, S. (2006). Characteristics of hazard and risk perception by primary school pupils during outdoor activities. Taiikugaku Kenkyu (Japan Journal Of Physical Education, Health And Sport Sciences, 51(3), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.5432/jjpehss.51.275
Mužíková, L. (2008). Východiska k implementaci výchovy ke zdraví do školních vzdělávacích programů pro základní školy (Disertační práce). Dostupné z https://theses.cz/id/6khxko/18902646
MZČR. (2019). Závěrečné zhodnocení plnění úkolů vyplývajících z Národního akčního plánu prevence dětských úrazů na léta 2007–2017. Ministerstvo zdravotnictví České republiky. https://www.mzcr.cz/zaverecne-zhodnoceni-plneni-ukolu-vyplyvajicich-z-narodniho-akcniho-planu-prevence-detskych-urazu-na-leta-2007-2017/
MZČR. (2020). „ZDRAVÍ 2030“ analytická studie. https://zdravi2030.mzcr.cz/zdravi-2030-analyticka-studie-stav-obyvatelsva.pdf
Nursyuhada Binti Mohamad, Y., Vivien, H., Ezza Sabrina Binti, A., & Khairuddin Bin, O. (2019). The educator’s perspective: Knowledge, attitude and practices on occupational safety and health at school among primary and secondary school teachers. Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 19(1), 184–190. https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.19/no.1/art.52
Nutbeam, D. (2008). The evolving concept of health literacy. Social science & medicine, 67(12), 2072–2078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.050
Okan, O., Paakkari, L., & Dadaczynski, K. (2020). Health literacy in schools: State of the art. https://www.schoolsforhealth.org/sites/default/files/editor/fact-sheets/factsheet-2020-english.pdf
Paakkari, L., & Paakkari, O. (2012). Health literacy as a learning outcome in schools. Health Education, 112(2), 133–152.
Paakkari, L., Okan, O., Aagaard-Hansen, J., Barnekow, V., Weber, M. W., & Sørensen, K. (2020). WHO working group on health literacy in schools. European Journal of Public Health, 30(Supplement_5). https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.152.
Peralta, L., Cinelli, R., Marvell, C., & Nash, R. (2022). A teacher professional development programme to enhance students’ critical health literacy through school-based health and physical education programmes. Health Promotion International, 37(6), 1–12.
Rámcový vzdělávací program pro základní vzdělávání (RVP ZV). (2023). MŠMT.
Raosoft Incorporated. (2004). Sample size calculator. http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html.
Serafin, C., & Depesova, J. (2022). The personal development of teachers and pupils within the context of health and safety in education. In T. Ahram, W. Karwowski, P. Di Bucchianico, R. Taiar, L. Casarotto, & P. Costa (Eds.), Intelligent human systems integration (IHSI 2022): Integrating people and intelligent systems. AHFE International. http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1001016
Scheuer, C., & Heck, S. (2022). Physically active and healthy school: Role of primary physical education teacher. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of teacher education (s. 1302–1307). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8679-5_423
Stará, J., & Krčmářová, T. (2014). Užívání nových učebnicových materiálů učiteli 1. stupně ZŠ. Pedagogická orientace, 24(1), 77–110. https://doi.org/10.5817/PedOr2014-1-77
Tam, N. T., Huy, N. T., Thoa, leT. B., Long, N. P., Trang, N. T., Hirayama, K., & Karbwang, J. (2015). Participants’ understanding of informed consent in clinical trials over three decades: systematic review and meta-analysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 93(3), 186–198H. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.14.141390
Tureková, I., & Depešová, J. (2019). Significance of teacher education in the field of occupational health and safety. In EDULEARN19 Proceedings: 11th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (pp. 8576–8584). IATED. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2019.2130
United Nations. (2016). Transforming Our World: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf.
Vágnerová, M., & Lisá, L. (2021). Vývojová psychologie: dětství a dospívání. Univerzita Karlova, nakladatelství Karolinum.
WHO. (2022). The global health observatory: Distribution of causes of death among children aged < 5 years (%). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/distribution-of-causes-of-death-among-children-aged-5-years-(-)
WHO. (2024). Health Promotion: Track 2: Health literacy and health behaviour. https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhanced-wellbeing/seventh-global-conference/health-literacy
Zvadová, Z., Janoušek, S., & Roth, Z. (2012) Úrazovost u dětí školního věku – současné směry prevence. Prevence úrazů, otrav a násilí, 8(1), 7–17. http://casopis-zsfju.zsf.jcu.cz/prevence-urazu-otrav-a-nasili/administrace/clankyfile/20120723112748680870.pdf
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2025 Barbora Loudová Stralczynská, Kateřina Chroustová, Tereza Krčmářová, Vlastimil Chytrý, Martin Bílek