ANALYSIS OF OBSERVED SAFETY PRACTICES AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN WARRI METROPOLIS, DELTA STATE

Accidents and injuries are almost inevitable in all human endeavours especially in children’s activities. With the knowledge of safety practices, the rate of accidents and injuries occurrence is minimized. This study was designed to analyze the observed safety practices among primary school children in Warri Metropolis of Delta State. The survey research designed was adopted. A sample of 308 children from the upper primary classes and 40 teachers were randomly selected to participate in the study. The multi-stage sampling procedure was used. A structured and contently validated safety practice questionnaire (SP) with a reliability coefficient of 0.61 using the Cronbach alpha was used for data collection. Data analysis was carried out through percentages and chi-square test. Results from the study showed that the level of safety practice among primary school children was poor. No significant difference was found on the observed safety practices between male and female pupils in classroom and on the road to and fro school (P>1.9; 0.85 respectively, but there was significant difference in the observed safety practices on the playground and laboratory (P1.45) while female pupils were more safety conscious on playgrounds, laboratory and on the road to and fro school (1.49>1.36; 1.46>1.34 & 1.50>1.45) respectively. Continuous daily safety reminder talks to stimulate safety consciousness and practice were made among others as recommendation for the study