정신지체학교의 학교안전사고 실태, 사고처리 및 예방에 관한 교사의 인식 연구

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of school safety accidents, their solutions, and the prevention strategies of such accidents at schools for students with mental retardation. Teachers at schools for students with mental retardation across the nation were recruited for this study by sampling 10 schools out of 75 schools based on a cluster (school) sampling with two strata (school location and type of operation). A total of 273 teachers participated in this study by responding to a questionnaire by mail. The questionnaire consisted of four parts: (a) six items about the participants' demographic and teaching-related variables; (b) 16 items regarding the current status of school safety accidents experienced by students and teachers, respectively; (c) eight items about the solutions for school safety accidents, including the School Safety Mutual Aid Association, student guidance, the School Violence Act and its regulations; and (d) 11 items related to prevention strategies of school safety accidents such as safety promotion education, interventions for problem behaviors, and the roles of teachers, parents, and educational administrators in preventing school safety accidents. Data were collected from Sep. 13 through Oct. 13 in the fall of 2006 academic year. The major findings were as follows: First, 85% of teachers at schools for students with mental retardation had the experience of school safety accidents. It was reported that such school safety accidents most frequently occurred in hallways, stairs, and classrooms at transition periods and lunch primarily as a result of problem behaviors of students with mental retardation. The major types of injuries from school safety accidents included skin damage, bruise, and bone fracture and the duration for treating such injuries in the hospital was less than two weeks. It was also reported that 70% of teachers had been injured by students and that 25% of the school safety accidents led to the violation of professional rights of teachers. Second, 70% of teachers reported that they had solved the problems by having the stakeholders compromise each other; only 24% of the teachers used School Safety Mutual Aid Association for dealing with school safety accidents. Schoolwide rules for guiding students with mental retardation were not established and implemented enough to deal with school safety accidents. Teachers' awareness of School Violence Act and its regulations was very low. Third, the majority of teachers agreed with the need to provide safety promotion education, whereas such education was not being provided as much as they reported that it should be. The majority of teachers reported that they had employed intervention strategies for problem behaviors; approximately half of the teachers responded that such strategies were effective in decreasing problem behaviors. Teachers indicated that educators, administrators, parents, and students should collaborate with one another and perform their own roles in preventing school safety accidents.