Amanda L. Stephenson’s research while affiliated with Texas State University and other places

This study investigated safety in Texas secondary school science laboratory, classroom, and field settings. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) drew a random representative sample consisting of 199 secondary public schools in Texas. Eighty-one teachers completed Incident/Accident Reports. The reports were optional, anonymous, and open-ended; thus, they are unique in capturing the strengths and weaknesses of safety practices in school science settings as perceived by the teachers. Pertinent findings include: a) incidents and accidents (mishaps) increased from 8% to 62% as the class enrollment increased from <14 students to >24 students (p < 0.05), b) mishaps increased from 11% to 66% as classroom space per student decreased from >60 ft2 per student to <45 ft2 per student (p < 0.05), c) mishaps increased from 11% to 47% as room size decreased from >1200 ft2 to <800 ft2 (p < 0.05) d) 35% of teachers did not have adequate safety training within the last year, and e) 69% of teachers had a written safety policy. The findings of this study can be used to develop science classroom, lab, and field safety guidelines on a classroom, school, district, state, and a national level.

Recommends phasing as an effective approach for training future science teachers in inquiry-based teaching. The phasing philosophy originated with middle school science teachers and is presented in four phases. (DDR)